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Income Needed to Afford a $400,000 Home in Canada

Updated

A $400,000 purchase can be made with 5% down. Here’s the household income that lenders’ rules require.

Home price
Down payment (%)
Mortgage rate (%)
Amortization (years)
Property tax ($ a month)
Heating ($ a month)
Condo fees ($ a month)
Other debt payments ($ a month)
Household income needed
Down payment
CMHC insurance premium
Mortgage (with premium)
Qualifying (stress test) rate
Payment at the qualifying rate
Actual payment at your rate

Income needed

Down paymentCMHC premiumPayment at the qualifying rateIncome needed
Minimum: $20,000$15,200$2,531$92,700
10%: $40,000$11,160$2,377$88,000
20%: $80,000None$2,114$79,900

The lowest income that qualifies with the minimum down payment is about $92,700. With 20% down ($80,000) it falls to $79,900, because there’s no insurance premium and the loan is smaller. The uninsured contract rate used for 20% down is 4.35%, against 4.01% insured.

The payment you qualify on versus the one you pay

Lenders test your income against a payment of $2,531 a month, at the 6.01% stress-test rate. At the contract rate you’d actually pay about $2,081. The stress test calculator shows the gap for other rates.

Sources

The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them between September 24, 2026 and September 25, 2026. How we check facts.

4 more sources