With the province’s new HOME Partnership program in place, nearly 42,000 new households are likely to enter the market over the next three years.
Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond says in order to find a firm solution on down payments, government has to consider first-time home-buyers across the spectrum.
“You have to be pre-approved, so all of those considerations about whether or not a person can manage a mortgage of this nature will be considered. But, we’ve heard from British Columbians loud and clear that we need to do something.”
The program is predicting great benefits on the economy in the future, but for first time buyers, it can still break the bank very easily.
Bond says she understands how tough the housing market can be.
“Certainly for people who are looking to get into their first home, saving for that down payment can be a really big challenge, and we’re going to make sure that we help them do that in a responsible way.”
She believes there will be enough protections put in place for the Northern region.
According to Bond, it’s an area of the province that doesn’t get considered in terms of affordable housing.
“Often we think about the affordability issue as being somewhere else, but it’s still a challenge for people in Northern British Columbia to get into homes as well.”
The BC government has promised to provide up to 5% of the purchase price for approved applicants.
The program will start accepting applications on January 16, 2017.
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