Using CMHC (Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp) anyone can buy a home in Canada with just 5% down payment. (To avoid CMHC fees, they would need 20% down)
So a $350,000 house would require a down payment of $17,500, which must come in the form of a cash down payment OR via a GIFT from parents or other sources.
In addition to the down payment, home buyers needs to budget for closing costs, which include legal fees, property taxes, land titles taxes, etc. These are often tied to home’s value and add up to an estimated 2.5% to 3% of price of the home.
So, a buyer needs to have approx. 7.5% to 8% of the total cost of the house (or condo) in savings (or GIFT) when embarking on the journey to purchase a home.