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What You Can Afford

Uses the federal mortgage stress test set by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, OSFI (qualifying rate = your contract rate + 2 points, or the 5.25% floor, whichever is higher). The maximum purchase price below is what a BC lender will actually approve against your income.

Last reviewed by Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR®Sources: Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, BC.gov.caCC BY 4.0How we verify

You could buy up to a $799,859 home. GDS is the binding constraint at the stress-test rate.

What you qualify for

$640,000 to $799,859, on the market right now.

See these homes

Calculate

Amortization period

Maximum purchase price
$799,859
Maximum mortgage you qualify for
$649,859
Mortgage default insurance premium, added to the loan (2.80%)
$18,196
What you actually borrow, and pay interest on
$668,055
What limits you
GDS (housing costs 39.0% / total debt 43.0% of income)
Qualifying rate (the stress-test rate)
6.19%
Monthly principal and interest at the qualifying rate (the pre-approval test)
$4,350
Monthly principal and interest at the contract rate (what you actually pay)
$3,583
Closing-cost estimate: transfer tax, legal and adjustments
$16,997
Down payment as % of max price
18.8%
Down payment is below 20% — CMHC default-insured mortgage applies (premium 2.8%-4.0% added to mortgage). See /codex#cmhc.insurance_cap.
Below the first-time-buyer phase-out band ($860,000). If this is your first home, tick the box above and the closing-cost estimate will apply the BC First-Time Home Buyer Property Transfer Tax exemption. See /codex#bc.ptt.fthb_exemption.

Estimate only. Confirm with a licensed professional before relying on this number.

How we verify →

This is not a mortgage quote or pre-approval. Bronson Job is not a licensed mortgage broker; talk to a licensed broker for an actual approval.

Show the math8 steps
StepAmount
Qualifying rate = max(4.19% + 2.0pp, 5.25%) = 6.19% (osfi.b20.stress_test)—
Monthly gross income (annual / 12)$12,500.00
Other housing (prop tax/12 + heating + 50% strata)$525.00
Maximum principal + interest under the housing-cost ratio, 39% (39.0% × monthly income − other housing)$4,350.00
Maximum principal + interest under the total-debt ratio, 44% (44.0% × monthly income − other housing − monthly debts)$4,475.00
Whichever binds first: housing costs$4,350.00
Max mortgage your income qualifies for, at the qualifying rate (6.19%, 25-year amortization)$668,055.31
Max purchase price = max mortgage + down payment$799,859.25
Total$799,859.25

Computed from the BC Real Estate Codex · CC BY 4.0

Try a typical scenario

Where this fits in your buying journey

  1. AffordabilityWhat you can buy
  2. PTTTransfer tax
  3. Cash-to-CloseClosing day cash
  4. MortgageMonthly payment

How the qualifying rate works

At a 5.5% contract rate, the qualifying rate is 7.5% — contract rate plus 2 percentage points. On an $800,000 mortgage over 25 years, monthly principal and interest at the contract rate is roughly $4,890; at the qualifying rate it is closer to $5,860 — a $970-a-month difference. Pre-approval is sized so the qualifying-rate payment fits inside the lender debt-service limits (housing costs no more than 39% of income, total debt no more than 44%), not the contract-rate payment.

On the same numbers, the contract-rate math approves a $1.1M purchase; the qualifying rate approves $920K. The qualifying-rate figure is what the lender will actually advance. The contract-rate payment is what the buyer pays month to month.

Common questions about home affordability in BC

  • What is the federal mortgage stress test?
    A federal rule (OSFI Guideline B-20) requiring lenders to qualify mortgage applicants at a rate higher than the contract rate. The qualifying rate is the greater of the contract rate + 2 percentage points or 5.25%, whichever is higher. The lender sizes your pre-approval against that higher rate, even though your actual monthly payment uses the contract rate.
  • What are GDS and TDS ratios?
    Gross Debt Service (GDS) is the share of your gross monthly income that housing costs can take — principal, interest, property tax, heat, and half of strata fees. The CMHC convention is GDS ≤ 39%. Total Debt Service (TDS) adds your other monthly debt obligations (car loans, student loans, credit-card minimums) and is capped at 44%. Whichever ratio is tighter at the qualifying rate is the binding constraint on your maximum mortgage.
  • Can two incomes be combined?
    Yes — lenders use combined household income for joint applications. Enter the total gross household income above. The same applies to monthly debts: enter combined household debt obligations. The GDS and TDS limits apply to the combined household figures.
  • What happens if my down payment is below 20%?
    Less than 20% down on a purchase price ≤ $1.5M triggers CMHC default insurance: a premium (2.8%–4.0% depending on the LTV tier) added to your mortgage principal, plus 7% BC PST on the premium that's due in cash at closing. Above $1.5M, CMHC insurance is unavailable and you need at least 20% down (conventional financing).
  • Does this give me a pre-approval?
    No. This calculator estimates the maximum mortgage and purchase price you qualify for under the OSFI B-20 stress test using standard CMHC GDS/TDS limits. A real pre-approval verifies your income, credit, down-payment source, and applies the specific lender's underwriting rules (which may differ slightly — credit unions and private lenders use different rates and ratios). Talk to a licensed mortgage broker for an actual approval.
  • What does the closing-cost estimate include?
    It covers the largest line items — Property Transfer Tax net of the first-time-buyer exemption, plus typical legal/notary fees, title insurance, and prorated adjustments. It deliberately leaves out a couple of deal-specific costs, most notably the 7% PST on the CMHC premium that applies when you put down less than 20%, which can add $1,000–$2,000+. For the full line-by-line number on a specific purchase — including that insured-deal PST — use the cash-to-close calculator.

Related

Sources: OSFI · Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Verified sources (2)· re-verified 2026-09-05Click to expand

Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.

Fact ID: osfi.b20.stress_test · v2View in Codex →
Spot an issue? Report an inaccuracy · How we verify
Sources: CMHC · Government of Canada
Verified sources (2)· re-verified 2026-08-02Click to expand

Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.

Fact ID: cmhc.insurance_cap · v2View in Codex →
Spot an issue? Report an inaccuracy · How we verify
Sources: BC Government
Verified sources (2)· re-verified 2026-09-21Click to expand

Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.

Fact ID: bc.ptt.brackets · v1View in Codex →
Spot an issue? Report an inaccuracy · How we verify
Sources: BC Government
Verified sources (1)· re-verified 2026-09-21Click to expand

Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.

Fact ID: bc.ptt.fthb_exemption · v3View in Codex →
Spot an issue? Report an inaccuracy · How we verify
Bronson Job PREC, REALTOR® at Momentum Realty Inc. — Langley + Fraser Valley + Greater Vancouver
Bronson Job PRECREALTOR® · Momentum Realty Inc.GVR Member #6015742 · FVREB Member #FJOBBR