Province · Buying your first home in Canada
Nova Scotia runs one of the most aggressive provincial first-time buyer programs in Canada. A pilot credit-union mortgage lowers the minimum down payment to 2%, and the Down Payment Assistance Program offers interest-free loans.
Purchase with as little as 2% down on homes up to $570,000 in HRM and East Hants, or $500,000 elsewhere in the province. Mortgages are issued through participating credit unions. Province guarantees up to 90% of lender losses; interest rates capped at prime plus 2%.
Interest-free loan worth 5% of purchase price, repayable over 10 years, for qualifying first-time buyers with insured mortgages.
Rebate of up to $3,000 on the provincial portion of HST charged on a newly built home.
Nova Scotia's 2% down pilot plus DPAP can stack with federal FHSA, HBP, and HBTC. A buyer using the pilot at minimum 2% down plus a fully funded FHSA has an unusually low cash requirement at close compared with most provinces.