Are you in your late 20s or 30s and tired of throwing away money on rent? Time and time again, I hear our demographic say, “I will never be able to own a home in Vancouver.” While it's true that home prices have increased since previous generations purchased, don’t let a negative mindset prevent you from reaching your goal of homeownership. The key to purchasing a home in Vancouver is strategic planning.

Sweat Equity: Think of your first home as a stepping stone toward your next home. Given the cost of property in Vancouver, you likely won’t be able to afford your dream home as a first-time buyer. Being open to an older apartment that you can upgrade yourself can put you miles ahead. Simple improvements—like painting kitchen cupboards or bathroom vanities, updating light fixtures, or installing vinyl flooring—can drastically improve your apartment's look and increase its value. Hold onto it for a few years to help pay down your mortgage and build equity. Bonus: You only need a 5% down payment to buy a home priced under $500,000 and then 10% up to $1.5 million. There are some great older apartments on the market today priced around $600,000 where your mortgage payments could match your current rent, and a down payment of only $35,000 is needed.

Explore Different Neighbourhoods: Be open to different areas. You might love a certain neighbourhood, but is the type of home you want in that area too expensive? Consider buying your first home in an up-and-coming neighbourhood, with the goal of purchasing your next home in your dream location.

Combining a different neighbourhood, with sweat equity, is just what our own clients have done in the past. Understanding that the Vancouver market was out of their budget, clients of ours explored the Surrey area when a foreclosure hit the market. The condition of the home had kept many prospective buyers away, but the bones were solid. The plan was to repaint, remove the carpets and replace with laminate flooring, replace the kitchen cabinets, and remodel the bathrooms. Once complete, we executed on our marketing strategy and were pleased to present multiple offers to our clients. With the proceeds of the sale, our clients were able to get into the Vancouver market.

Presales: Presales are a great way to enter the market without making mortgage payments until the project is complete. When you purchase a presale home, a deposit is required, but mortgage payments don’t begin until you take possession, which could be years down the road. In the current Q1 2025 presale market, many developers are open to negotiation or offering promotional deals to get you an even better price. This allows you to lock in today’s prices for tomorrow’s home.

Available Programs for First Time Home Buyers:

As a first time buyer in BC, there are great incentives available to help you achieve home ownership. A few of our favourites are:

• Property transfer tax exemptions are available to first time buyers with a full exemption up to $500,000 and a partial exemption to $835,000. This can save you thousands, making that first home purchase a little bit cheaper.

• The Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) is a program wherein you may withdraw up to $60,000 (couples up to $120,000) from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) to put towards the purchase of your principal residence.

• The tax free first home savings account is essentially a TFSA but for your first home. First time buyers can contribute $8000 annually to their FHSA and then invest these funds into GIC’s, mutual funds and more. This can significantly reduce the amount of time spent saving for a down payment. This is tax deductible, and can save you thousands on your annual tax return.

For more info on available programs, check out our blog post HERE

Homeownership might feel out of reach now, but it can be one of the best financial moves you’ll ever make. If you’re thinking about getting into the market but aren’t sure where to start, let’s chat—I’ll help you create a plan to make it happen!