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N.S. Introduces Program that Reduces Down Payment for First-Time Homebuyers to 2 per Cent
Nova Scotia's program removes mortgage insurance and sets home price caps up to $570,000, aiming to ease down payment burdens for hundreds of first-time buyers.
- On Feb. 3, 2026, Housing Minister John White announced a four-year pilot cutting the down payment to two per cent for first-time buyers, making Nova Scotia the first province to do so.
- The province says the pilot responds to the saving-for-a-down-payment barrier by requiring Nova Scotia residents to have household incomes of $200,000 or less, pass the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. stress test, and a credit score of 630 or higher.
- Mechanically, the province will guarantee mortgages, cover 90 per cent of lender shortfalls, and pay about $579,000 to Atlantic Central, White said Tuesday.
- The government expects hundreds of prospective first-time buyers to join the four-year pilot with no enrollment limit, while officials say it could ease rental pressures and make starter homes outside urban Halifax more accessible.
- The official opposition responded that the program is 'better late than never' as market firms like Royal LePage forecast Halifax home-price forecast of two per cent and median detached price rising 4 per cent to $628,056 in 2026.
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N.S. introduces program that reduces down payment for first-time homebuyers to 2 per cent
Nova Scotia’s Progressive Conservative government is fulfilling a campaign promise it made ahead of the 2024 election, aimed at making it easier for first-time homebuyers to get into the market.
·Canada
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Down payment needed for first-time homebuyers lowered in N.S.
The provincial government says a newly-announced program is addressing one of the barriers to home ownership: saving for a down payment. The First-time Homebuyers Program, unveiled on Tuesday by Housing Minister John White, allows eligible homeowners to make a down payment of 2 per cent on their first home. Eligible house prices for the program […]
·Toronto, Canada
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Winnipeg Free Press+18 Reposted by 18 other sources
N.S. pilot program cuts down payment requirements for first-time homebuyers
Breaking News, Sports, Manitoba, Canada
·Winnipeg, Canada
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Total News Sources27
Leaning Left19Leaning Right1Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution83% Left
Bias Distribution
- 83% of the sources lean Left
83% Left
L 83%
13%
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