The Yukon government is proposing a program offering low-interest loans to bolster first-time home buyers’ down payments. The loans from the government will match purchasers’ down payment contributions up to 5 per cent of the home’s purchase price. Purchasers can defer repayment until after the home they purchase with help from the loan is no longer their primary residence. It will be available to Yukon residents who are pre-approved for a mortgage. At an announcement about the project on April 23, Yukon Premier Ranj Pillai explained that the loans will carry a 2.5 per cent fixed interest rate compounded annually. Jason Seaton, a representative of the Yukon Housing Corporation which will administer the loans program, explained that the intent of the program is not to make money. He said the loans’ fixed interest rate is designed to keep up with inflation; revenue that comes in form the loans will be reflected in government financial statements. A total of $1 million is being set aside for the program this fiscal year, pending budget approval. A vote on the budget is expected before the end of the current legislature sitting which wraps on May 1. Pillai said it is hoped that the program could help 40 to 80 people this coming year. He explained that this figure was arrived at by taking the million-dollar expenditure in the proposed budget and applying it to a mix of different housing stock. The premier said the loans will carry similar legally-binding agreements as other government programs as a way to ensure homes purchased under the program are used as primary residences. Mortgage pre-approval is the first step for applicants. From there, applications can be completed by email, by mail or in person at the Yukon Housing Corporation’s offices at 410 Jarvis Street. Pillai expressed confidence that the program will be “very effective” in getting people into their first homes and said more money could be invested in future if things go well. “The dream of home ownership is about more than just having a roof over your head. It’s about building stability independence and a future you want. It’s about putting down roots. It’s about truly making a place your own where you can feel independent and secure, where you can have the freedom to shape your own space,” he said acknowledging that that dream has slipped out of reach for many Yukoners and other Canadians, even those with good jobs and steady income as they pay rent while trying to save for down payments. Pillai added that one of the program’s aims is bringing people back to the territory after they get educated Outside. The opposition Yukon Party is claiming that the government’s program is a repackaging of a program cut by the Liberals in 2019 and that the Yukon Party committed to reinstating during the 2021 election. “Reintroducing the First Time Home Buyer Program is good news for those seeking homeownership,” said housing critic Yvonne Clarke. “We have been calling for this program to be brought back for many years, and the Liberals have done so during an election year.” Laura Seeley, who handles communications for Pillai’s cabinet, drew distinctions between the former and new programs and offered more information on why the last program was cut. She says the down payment assistance program that ran from 2013 to 2020 was forced to end when federal mortgage rules changed making the program’s eligibility requirements “unworkable” as the prices of homes outpaced Yukoners’ incomes. She says the new first home program is more flexible. “This is not a rebrand. It’s a response to real gaps left by previous programs and changing financial realities,” Seeley wrote in an email to the News on April 24. “If they want to call every housing solution we bring forward an election-year stunt, that says more about their priorities than ours. We’re focused on helping more Yukoners get into homes – and we’re not going to stop making progress just because the Yukon Party chooses to criticize every step forward we take,” she wrote regarding the Yukon Party response. “They say they’ve wanted this program for years – so if they’re serious, they’ll back it up by voting for the budget next week.” Contact Jim Elliot at jim.elliot@yukon-news.com
Yukon government proposes down-payment loans for first-time homebuyers
