About First-time home buyers in Regina
What you actually need in the bank
Minimum down payment is 5% on the first $500,000, so $17,500 on a $350,000 house. Add roughly 1.5% of the price for closing costs. Then there's the deposit, $5,000 to $10,000, payable within days of an accepted offer. That's separate money you need liquid, and it catches more first-time buyers out than anything else on this page.
Closing here costs less than you'd think
Saskatchewan has no land transfer tax. That one absence saves you what would be several thousand dollars in most other provinces. What you pay instead is a title registration fee tied to the value of the place, generally a few hundred dollars, plus $1,200 to $1,800 for your lawyer and a title insurance premium. Buyers moving here from Ontario or BC read that line twice.
Open an FHSA today, before anything else
The First Home Savings Account is the best tool a Saskatchewan first-time buyer has. $8,000 a year up to $40,000 lifetime, a deduction going in and tax-free growth coming out. It stacks with the Home Buyers' Plan, which lets you pull up to $60,000 each from an RRSP tax-free. Most people under thirty haven't opened one, and the contribution room only starts building once you do. That's the whole reason to do it now.
What's actually in the entry band
Under $350,000 in Regina gets you a Cathedral character two-storey, a Harbour Landing townhouse, or a two-bedroom condo downtown. Those are three different propositions once you count maintenance, monthly carrying cost and how easily you'll resell. A $268,000 townhouse with a $285 fee and a $339,000 house with a $200-a-month repair habit are closer in real cost than the prices let on.
