MIDDLE SACKVILLE: The federal government’s first-time home buyer incentive got an extra push thanks to a visit by the Prime Minister to a new subdivision on the outskirts of Middle Sackville.
Justin Trudeau, along with Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook MP Darrell Samson, HRM Mayor Mike Savage, and Bernadette Jordan, MP for South Shore-St. Margaret’s and the minister for Rural Economic Development, visited a family looking at purchasing their first home.
Trudeau and Samson spoke at length with Ryan and Victoria Donato, and even carried their young son Hayden up the stairs inside one of the homes under construction, about the first-time home buyer incentive.
Donato said the First Time Home Buyers incentive will help him and Victoria as it will save them thousands of dollars during the lifespan of a mortgage by lowering the amount they would have to borrow by upwards of 10 per cent.
“I think it’s a very important program and a solid step in the right direction,” said Donato. “I think we’ve all noticed a trend among younger people where we tend to leave the nest a lot later in life than previous generations.
“I think a lot of that is to do with the price of homes increasing far beyond the rise of wages, not only in Nova Scotia but all throughout the country. Any program that can help with housing affordability is a good program and I think the First Time Home Buyers Incentive is a great start.”
The incentive was announced in Budget 2019 and allows eligible first-time home buyers who have the minimum down payment for an insured mortgage to apply to finance a portion of their home purchase through a shared equity mortgage with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).
Donato said he and Victoria are actually just in the process of finishing school.
“I’ve just found a new full-time job which is great, so once Victoria is done school and starts her career, our plan is to begin looking into purchasing a home in the Sackville-Fall River area,” he said. “Our plan is to own a home in the next two or three years.”
