Mortgage affordability questions, answered

Enough that your housing costs stay within 39% of gross income and all debts within 44%, tested at the qualifying rate. With the example inputs above ($120,000 income, $60,000 down, $450/month of debts, 4.12%), that's a mortgage of about $531,687 on a $575,700 home.

The greater of your contract rate plus 2 percentage points or 5.25%, for both insured and uninsured mortgages from federally regulated lenders (checked November 1, 2026).

5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the rest for homes under $1,500,000; 20% at $1,500,000 or more. Under 20% down you also pay a mortgage insurance premium.

No. It estimates a lender's maximum under federal and CMHC rules. A pre-approval also checks your credit, documents and the lender's own policies.

Yes. It adds land transfer tax for your province or city (after first-time buyer relief), sales tax on any CMHC premium, and estimates for legal, title insurance and inspection, so you can see total cash to close.

Every monthly debt payment: car loans and leases, student loans, lines of credit, credit-card minimum payments and support payments, plus your housing costs.

On an insured mortgage (under 20% down), only if you're a first-time buyer or buying a newly built home; it adds 0.20% to the premium. With 20% or more down, many lenders offer 30 years as their own policy.

For an insured mortgage, CMHC requires at least one borrower with a score of 600 or more. Lenders may ask for more.

Some provinces offer land transfer tax relief (for example Ontario's refund of up to $4,000 and Toronto's rebate of up to $4,475). Federally, there's the FHSA, the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan (up to $60,000) and the home buyers' amount tax credit.

Lenders may use different ratio limits for uninsured mortgages, count your income or debts differently, or require a lower heating estimate. Use the result here as a starting point and ask your lender how they calculate.