1Your money
Rough numbers are fine. Everything updates as you type.
Before tax. Check a pay stub or last year's T4.
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Your share if you split it.
$
Include an FHSA or RRSP you'd use.
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Car loan or lease
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Student loans
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Credit cards and lines of credit
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Anything else (phone financing, etc.)
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2What you're thinking of buying
Condos come with monthly fees. Houses come with more repairs.
Adjust the fine print (interest rate, taxes, years)
The best insured 5-year fixed rates were around 4.4% to 4.6% in November 2026.
First-time buyers can get 30 years. 25 is the standard.
About 1.25% is a fair Saskatoon estimate. Listings show the real amount.
Lenders count this. Winters here are real.
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Lenders don't count these, but you'll still pay them.
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A lender would likely approve up to about
$0
for the home itself.
3Try a real price
Approved is not the same as comfortable. Plug in the price of a place you've seen.
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Your rent vs. owning, each month
Paying down your home
Interest
Tax, utilities, insurance, fees
Repair fund
See the full monthly breakdown
Upfront cash: what your savings need to cover
How the bank checks you (the two ratios)
Lenders test you at , which is higher than your actual rate. This is the "stress test." It makes sure you could still pay if rates went up.
Housing costs vs. income
Limit is 39%. Mortgage, tax, heat and half of condo fees.
All debts vs. income
Limit is 44%. Housing plus your other debt payments.
Want a second set of eyes?
No pressure, no sales pitch. I'm happy to walk through your numbers and what's out there in your price range.
Great! Your REALTOR® is the best person to walk through these numbers with you. Good luck with the search!
Programs that help first-time buyers
Worth asking your bank or a mortgage broker about.
First Home Savings Account (FHSA)Save up to $8,000 a year ($40,000 total). You get a tax deduction on what you put in, and you pay no tax when you take it out to buy.
RRSP Home Buyers' PlanBorrow up to $60,000 from your own RRSP for a down payment. You pay it back to yourself over 15 years.
First-time buyer tax creditsUp to $1,500 back on your federal taxes the year you buy, and Saskatchewan has its own credit too.
Pay down debt firstEvery $100 a month of car or card payments you clear can add roughly $15,000 to what a lender will approve.
Words you'll hear
- Down payment
- The part of the price you pay with your own money. The minimum is 5% on the first $500,000.
- Mortgage default insurance (CMHC)
- If you put down less than 20%, you pay a one-time fee to insure the loan. It gets added to your mortgage, so you don't need that cash up front. In Saskatchewan, PST on that fee is due in cash at closing.
- Amortization
- How many years it takes to fully pay off the mortgage. Longer means smaller payments but more interest.
- Closing costs
- Lawyer, land titles fees, home inspection and other one-time costs. Plan for about 1.5% of the price.
- Pre-approval
- A lender looks at your real finances and tells you what they'll lend. It's free and it's the best next step after this calculator.