The truth about Ottawa’s First Time Home Buyer Incentive (and you’re probably not going to like it)

It’s an especially good tactic for short-term homeowners to save interest and premiums, on the backs of taxpayers. “That’s gaming the system,” says mortgage broker Shawn Stillman of Toronto-based Mortgage Outlet Inc. “But that’s not what the government wants. It wants people in their houses long term because it’s losing money if they’re not. The only financial way they make this work is if the property appreciates.”

If price appreciation does resume its historical pace in 2020, your equity sharing with the government could offset any payment and default insurance savings you enjoy. The FTHBI then becomes a matter of how bullish you are on Canadian home prices. You’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky?