Buying your first home is harder than it once was. Studies have shown that while young Canadians still want to own homes, fewer are making it happen. Rising costs, low wages, tightening mortgage regulations, and a globalized job market can prevent would-be homeowners from buying their first properties.

In spite of these very-real difficulties, owning a home is still one of the best ways to build wealth, save for retirement, and secure the financial future of your family. There’s also a freedom that comes with knowing that you own the place where you’ll spend the majority of your life.

With these positives in mind, let’s not throw out the baby-boomer ideal with their 20th-century bath water. Homeownership for young Canadians is evolving, not disappearing, and builders like NewRock are constantly coming up with creative ways to make homeownership more attainable. Here are a few of our tried-and-true strategies for making homeownership happen!

Affordability

When you build a detached home, all the costs of construction fall on you: materials, labor, and the operation of machinery all add up to a heavy price-tag. In condo developments, however, the costs are spread throughout the entire community, making each home less expensive than if it were built in isolation.

Materials are purchased in bulk, contractors work on multiple homes throughout the same day, and the entire community is built as an integrated project. Economies of scale and standardized practices make condo-style homes significantly less expensive than detached homes of similar quality.

Financial Assistance Programs

Even buying a less expensive home, it can be difficult to save up for a down payment and keep yourself on financial track. Realizing this, we’ve designed and implemented financial assistance programs and down payment grants for nearly a decade to help relieve the pressures on first-time homeowners. Once you’re settled in, the monthly payments will begin to feel a lot like rent. But instead of your landlord’s retirement, you’ll be funding your own!

Currently, through partnerships with Genworth and the CMHC, we’re offering full downpayment grants on homes at Meadowview Point in Saskatoon!

Well-Built, Easily Maintained

While an older home might seem cheaper up front, there are almost always unexpected and untimely repair costs that’ll rear their ugly heads from time to time. The last thing you need when you’re working hard to secure your financial future is to have to take out another line of credit to repair a cracked foundation.

When you buy a new home, it’s unlikely that you’ll have to shell out hard-earned cash for expensive repairs. Things are less likely to break, and even if they do, they’ll almost certainly be covered by an extensive warranty package. For more on the cost-effectiveness of new homes, check out this article!

If you’ve got a stable job and want to reap the benefits of homeownership, there are many ways to make it happen – even on a tight budget. For as long as we’ve been around, NewRock has been working with Canadians of all ages and backgrounds to make homeownership possible. To find exceptional homes being built near you, browse our communities page, and get in touch with our team!