The most recent Canadian federal budget has several proposals to help home buyers. The most notable of these changes is an adjustment to the national Home Buyer’s Plan, and it is hoped that these changes will help to stimulate the national housing market.
The Canada Home Buyer’s plan was introduced in 1992 as a way to help first time homebuyers get into the home of their choice. The plan allows first time buyers to withdraw money from the national retirement savings plan (RRSP) to make a down payment on a house. From its introduction until the recent changes, the maximum amount that could be withdrawn had stayed at a level CA$20,000. This did not keep up with inflation or other economic changes, and the new amount is now $25,000.
“The change announced to the popular Home Buyers’ Plan will help Canadians who want to own their own home, and do it in a responsible way that is not a major drain on taxpayers,” says the President of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), Calvin Lindberg. In 2007, the last full year that statistics are available for, there were 52,380 Canadians who took advantage of the Home Buyers Plan to get into their first homes.
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