ST. JOHN’S, NL – The provincial government has created a program to assist people buying new homes and another to help first-time homebuyers.
Finance Minister Tom Osborne and Lisa Dempster, the minister responsible for the Newfoundland and Labrador Housing Corporation (NLHC), made the announcement on Monday, March 26.
As part of this year’s provincial budget, $1 million has been allotted for a new home purchase program, which will give $3,000 grants to individuals and families to go toward the down payment of newly constructed or existing new homes.
The homes must never have been sold or occupied and must be valued under $400,000 including HST.
The 330 grants provided in 2018-19 will be issued to the first home buyers who apply and qualify. The program begins on April 1, 2018.
“The new home purchase program will help Newfoundlanders and Labradorians achieve their dream of home ownership,” Osborne said.
“Whether it is new families just starting out, a family looking to sell an existing property and move into a new home or retirees looking to downsize, this program will help people build for their futures.”
Meanwhile, the former down payment assistance program delivered by the NLHC has been replaced with the first-time homebuyers program.
With the new program, greater focus will be placed on its goal to ensure home ownership is more accessible for first-time homebuyers.
The program will be extended to March 31, 2019 with available funding of $1.25 million. Roughly 100 households will be assisted in buying their own home through the program.
The extension will provide program enhancements that address the impact of new mortgage rules introduced by the federal government in October 2016.
They include increasing the average household income maximum for eligibility from $65,000 to $75,000 for full benefit and up to $85,000 for partial benefit; allowing for applicants to have a guarantor to support mortgage financing; requiring applicants to have pre-approval from a financial institution prior to applying for the program; and providing eligible households with five per cent of the purchase price of up to $250,000 for a new or existing home with $2,000 of that funding in the form of a grant.
NLHC will accept applications for the first-time homebuyers program starting on April 1 of this year.
