One of the numbers used by the government repeatedly, as well as by CMHC, is that 100,000 first-time homebuyers are going to be helped. When I asked Department of Finance officials where they came up with that number, they said CMHC. When I asked the CMHC CEO where that number came from, he said the Department of Finance.
Nobody seems to be able to agree how 100,000 first-time homebuyers will benefit from this, but the number made its way into budget 2019. I did some “back of the napkin” math and for 100,000, let's say 5%—I'm excluding new home builds of 10%—that would help about 54,945 people at the maximum, assuming a home price of $230,000.
I'm not sure I can buy a house for $230,000. The average home price in Ontario is $594,000. In B.C. it is $686,000. The average price of a home in Canada is $455,000.
Can you help me out with these numbers? Do you know where they got these numbers? Can you validate any of these numbers provided by the government?