Calculate the Mortgage Payment on an Average Home in Calgary
For anyone thinking of buying a home in Calgary, it’s important to educate yourself on both the local real estate market as well as how large of a mortgage you can truly afford. In this Ratehub.ca blog series, we are looking at average home prices in your city or province and using our provincial mortgage calculator to walk you through the mortgage payment calculations.
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), the average home price in Calgary is $429,717. This average home price has risen over the last year but still remains significantly more affordable then the neighbouring British Columbia market. But what does owning an average Calgary home look like in terms of a monthly mortgage payment? Let’s look at a Calgary home that is priced close to the city’s average home price and run the numbers with our Alberta mortgage calculator.
The beautiful four-bedroom home seen above is priced at $429,800 and is located in Calgary, walking distance from Deer Valley Mall. Using this house as an example, we’ll be calculating the monthly mortgage payments using both a 5% down payment and a 20% down payment. Note that both calculations use a 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.04% and an amortization period of 25 years.
With a 5% down payment:
A 5% down payment on a $429,800 home is $21,490. In this example, the down payment is less than 20%, so you will also be required to pay for Alberta CMHC insurance (mortgage default insurance). In this case, the Alberta CMHC insurance is $11,229 and is included in the total mortgage of $419,539. Assuming a 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.04%, your monthly mortgage payment would be $1,994.
With a 20% down payment:
A 20% down payment on a $429,800 home is $85,960. And because you made a down payment of 20% or more, you would not need to pay for Alberta CMHC insurance. So, in this example, your total mortgage would be the purchase price minus your down payment ($429,800 – $85,960 = $343,840). Once again, assuming you took on a 5-year fixed mortgage rate of 3.04%, your monthly mortgage payment would be $1,634.
Beyond your mortgage, there are several Calgary closing costs to consider, such as the Alberta land transfer tax (LTT). For this example, your total LTT is only $121, as there is no municipal LTT and the provincial LTT in Alberta is just a small levy. But you should also consider other costs that would need to be paid on closing day, all of which require extra cash on hand.
Our calculator tells you what your monthly mortgage payment would be but you can also choose to pay in more frequent intervals. Most lenders offer the choice of monthly, bi-weekly or accelerated bi-weekly payments, and some even let you make weekly payments. To learn more, you can read about mortgage payment options here.