First Time Home Buyers Incentives in Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador’s property market has seen a steady decline since 2014. However, since the beginning of the pandemic, property prices have increased across all property types. While gains have been more conservative than other areas of Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador have seen a steady increase in housing prices for the last two years. If you’re considering a move to the province, we’ve put together a list of the first-time homebuyer incentives available.

Key Takeaways

• Newfoundland and labrador currently offers no provincial support for first time homebuyers
• However, there are a number of federal programs available to help first time buyers, such as the RRSP Home Buyer’s Plan, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, and the GST/HST New Housing Rebate
• The province is one of the most affordable for first-time buyers in the country.

Newfoundland and Labrador First-Time Homebuyer Provincial Programs

Currently, Newfoundland and Labrador does not have any programs for first-time homebuyers. As of March 31, 2019, the province ended both its Home Purchase Program and the First-time Homebuyers Program, which helped first-time buyers with the cost of purchasing a new home. 

We’ll keep this page updated if and when new provincial support is announced for first time homebuyers in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Federal First-Time Home Buyer Programs

Although there are no first-time homebuyer programs in Newfoundland and Labrador currently, there are still a number of federal programs available for prospective first-time buyers in the province.

RRSP Home Buyer’s Plan

The RRSP Home Buyer’s Plan lets you take out up to $60,000 from your RRSP to put toward a downpayment on a home, which you’d then repay over a 15 year period. To qualify, you must be a first time homebuyer who is a Canadian resident at the time you withdraw funds from your RRSP, and up to the time a qualifying home is either bought or built. You also have to live in the home as your primary place of residence within the year after buying or building it. 

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

The federal First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit or ‘Home Buyer’s Amount’ is available for eligible first time homeowners. This incentive provides you and your spouse or common law partner up to $750 in tax rebates on the income you pay taxes on in the year you buy your home. 

If you have a disability and you claim the Disability Tax Credit on your tax return, you can also claim the First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit, even if you’ve already owned a home in the past. 

You will need to meet the following criteria, if this is the case:

• You must claim the disability amount on your tax return in the same tax year that you purchase the home
• The home must be suitable for the disabled person’s needs (ie your needs)
• You have to occupy the home within one year of purchasing it

GST/HST New Housing Rebate

For new housing in Canada, the land transfer tax refund lets homebuyers recover some of the land-transfer tax paid after the first $368,000 on qualifying homes. To claim this rebate, you must be over the age of 18, and must not have owned a home, either in whole or part, prior to purchasing your property (this includes inherited properties). You must also intend to live in the property as your primary place of residence. The maximum refund you can receive is $4,000, and will be applied on qualifying homes over $368,000. For homes below that price, you would not pay any land transfer taxes. 

Popular Cities & Neighborhoods for First-Time Home Buyers in Newfoundland and Labrador

As of February 2022, the benchmark price for a single-family home in the province is $328,300, an increase of 12.7%, year-on-year. Newfoundland and Labrador has not seen the same substantial price hikes as some other provinces, however the market has grown at a healthy and steady rate over the last two years. Here are some of the best neighbourhoods and locations for first-time buyers in the province. 

Source: RE/MAX Avalon NL Homes Search, March 2022, Avg. listing price, all property types.

Final Thoughts

While there aren’t currently programs in place to help first time buyers purchase a home, there are other incentives to help with the cost of updates to an existing property. For example, the Home Energy Savings Program can offer owners of single, row and semi-detached housing, a grant up to $5,000 per unit ​​to assist households that currently use oil heat in making energy efficient retrofits to their homes. If you’re thinking of moving to Newfoundland and Labrador, be sure to check out our mortgage calculator to see what repayments you could afford, otherwise, give one of our trained advisors a call today. We’ll help you find the best rates available to purchase your dream home.