St. Catharines Mortgage Broker

Buying in St. Catharines: the numbers first

Benchmark price

$530,000

Property tax rate (approx.)

1.26%

Minimum down at benchmark

$28,000

Ontario LTT at benchmark

$7,075

St. Catharines is the regional anchor of Niagara and the city where we meet most clients in person, by appointment. At a composite benchmark of about $530,000, it sits in the middle of the region: well below Grimsby, Pelham and Niagara-on-the-Lake, a little above Welland and Port Colborne. That draws a real mix: first-time buyers, Brock University faculty and staff, GTA commuters using the GO train, and investors adding a second unit to an older house.

The residential property tax rate is approximately 1.26% of assessed value. Treat that as a planning figure: your actual bill depends on the MPAC assessment and the current year's city, regional and education rates, so confirm with the City of St. Catharines before you rely on it. At the benchmark price it works out to about $6,678 a year, or $557 a month, and that monthly figure goes straight into your stress-test ratios.

Neighbourhoods and housing stock

St. Catharines is really several towns stitched together, and the housing stock changes the mortgage conversation from one to the next.

• Port Dalhousie on the Lake Ontario shore commands the city's highest prices. Lakeside and heritage homes here often push buyers above the benchmark, toward the point where the 10% portion of the minimum down payment starts to bite.
• Glenridge and the streets around Brock University mix established family homes with houses rented to students. If you are buying a former student rental, expect the lender and appraiser to look hard at how the bedrooms were created.
• Merritton and Facer hold much of the city's older stock: wartime storey-and-a-halfs, century brick and narrow lots. These are the classic first-home and first-rental properties, and also where electrical, plumbing and insurance questions come up.
• Secord Woods and Grantham in the north end are largely post-war and 1960s to 1980s bungalows, backsplits and two-storeys on larger lots, popular with families and with buyers looking to add a basement suite.

Downtown and along the main corridors you will also find condo apartments and townhouses, which bring condo fees into the qualifying math. Our condo and townhouse guide covers how lenders treat fees and status certificates.

What St. Catharines lenders look at closely

Older homes

Lenders and home insurers ask more questions about houses with original wiring, old heating systems or an abandoned oil tank. An insurer that will not bind coverage can stall a closing, because the lender needs proof of insurance before funding. Get the inspection early and read our wartime and century home guide before you firm up an offer on a Merritton or Facer house.

Secondary suites and second units

Ontario allows up to three residential units on most serviced urban lots as of right, subject to local zoning and the Building and Fire Codes. In St. Catharines that makes the bungalow with a separate side entrance a very common purchase. A-lenders typically add 50% of the suite's rent to your income or use a rental offset, but only if the unit is legal, so check the current zoning by-law and permit history. If you already own, the insured refinance for adding a secondary suite can reach up to 90% of the as-improved value. Details are in our duplex and secondary suite guide, and the rental cash-flow calculator runs the numbers.

Student rentals near Brock

Investors want houses close to campus, and lenders want legal bedrooms: egress windows, smoke and CO alarms, and fire separation where required. They will not finance an illegal rooming house, and some cap the number of rentable bedrooms before treating the property as commercial. Rental licensing rules apply in parts of Niagara, so check the current municipal by-law. Our student rental guide goes deeper.

Separation and buyouts

St. Catharines has plenty of households where one spouse keeps the home. A spousal buyout can be structured differently from a normal refinance; see the spousal buyout guide, and get your separation agreement reviewed by your family lawyer first.

Who buys here, and how we place the file

Many St. Catharines purchases are straightforward prime files: salaried or hourly T4 income, a credit score comfortably above 600, and 5% to 10% down. For those, we compare big-bank offers against monoline lenders such as First National or MCAP and against Ontario credit unions. Meridian Credit Union was founded in St. Catharines, and PenFinancial is Niagara-based; some Ontario credit unions offer qualifying options that federally regulated lenders do not, so they belong in the comparison. On these prime files the lender pays the brokerage, so there is no fee to you.

Renewals are the other big category: a straight switch to a new lender at renewal no longer requires the stress test, so shop 120 to 150 days ahead. See our renewal page. First-time buyers should read the first-time buyer guide for the FHSA and RRSP Home Buyers' Plan.

Closing costs and qualifying income at the benchmark

For your own price and down payment, use the payment and closing cost calculator or test your income in the affordability and stress-test calculator. Comparing nearby? See Thorold, Niagara-on-the-Lake and Lincoln and Beamsville.