How much does it cost to buy a home in Durham Region in 2026?

The rest of this guide shows where every dollar comes from, so you can put in your own price and down payment.

Figures as of October 19, 2026. The worked examples are calculated by the same calculators this site runs, using the rules checked on October 19, 2026. Prices, rates and rules change, so check the final numbers with your lawyer and mortgage lender.

What homes are selling for in Durham

In September 2026 the average Durham home sold for $828,141, about 6% lower than a year earlier. There were 552 sales, about a fifth fewer than in September 2025, and homes took about a month to sell. For buyers that means more choice and more room to negotiate than in 2024 or 2025.

Durham Region, September 2026, average sold price by type

Source: TRREB Market Watch, September 2026↗ (opens in a new tab), Durham Region.

By town, August 2026, all home types

Source: TRREB Market Watch, August 2026↗ (opens in a new tab), Durham Region by municipality. Durham as a whole averaged $819,569 on 602 sales that month.

Oshawa is still the most affordable way into Durham. In September a detached home in Oshawa averaged $748,346, less than the average freehold townhouse across the region. Each town page shows its own numbers, refreshed every night once the MLS feed is connected.

Three worked examples

All three assume a first time buyer, the minimum down payment, a 30 year amortization and a five year fixed rate of 4.34%, the lowest insured rate listed on Ratehub↗ (opens in a new tab) on October 19, 2026, one lender's offer. The big banks' discounted five year rates ran about 4.8% to 5.2% that day, so use the rate you are actually quoted.

Cash you need on closing day

The last line before the total uses this site's closing cost defaults: a lawyer at $1,800 plus HST, title insurance at $400, a home inspection at $500, and property tax and utility adjustments at 0.25% of the price. Moving costs are left out. Open the example in the closing cost calculator and change any line: condo, townhouse, detached.

What it costs every month

Why the income is higher than you might expect: lenders do not qualify you at your real rate. They use the stress test: the higher of 5.25% or your rate plus 2%. At 4.34% that means you are tested at 6.34%. Your housing costs at that rate (the payment, property tax, $150 a month for heating and 5% of any condo fee) have to fit within 39% of your gross income, and all your debts within 44%. Car loans and credit card payments lower what you qualify for. Check your own income in the affordability calculator: condo, townhouse, detached.

Want to see what these budgets buy right now? Search condos up to $450,000, townhouses up to $650,000 or detached homes up to $900,000 across Durham.

Every cost, explained

1. Down payment

• Up to $500,000: 5% of the price.
• $500,000 to $1,500,000: 5% of the first $500,000, plus 1% of the rest.
• $1,500,000 and up: 2% down, because mortgage insurance is not available.

With less than 2% down your mortgage has to be insured, through CMHC, Sagen or Canada Guaranty.

2. Mortgage insurance, and the tax most buyers miss

The premium is a share of your mortgage. Most buyers add it to the mortgage rather than paying it upfront.

A 30 year amortization adds 0.2% to the premium. The catch: Ontario charges 8% sales tax on the premium. That tax cannot go on the mortgage, so your lawyer collects it in cash on closing day. On a $650,000 home it is $2,050, and many buyers hear about it for the first time the week they close. See CMHC's premium table↗ (opens in a new tab).

3. Ontario land transfer tax

You pay it to the province on closing day, in brackets:

First time buyers get up to $4,000 back, usually taken off at closing by your lawyer. That covers the whole tax on a home up to about $368,000. To qualify you must be at least 18, never have owned a home anywhere in the world, and move in within nine months. Your spouse cannot have owned a home while you have been together, and you need to be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (or become one within 18 months). The Ontario Ministry of Finance↗ (opens in a new tab) has the full rules. Try your own price in the land transfer tax calculator.

The Durham advantage: Toronto charges a second, municipal land transfer tax↗ (opens in a new tab) on top of the provincial one. Durham does not. On a $900,000 home, buying in Durham instead of Toronto saves $10,000 on closing day for a first time buyer, after Toronto's $4,475 rebate, and $14,475 for anyone else. Compare the two.

4. Lawyer, title insurance, inspection and adjustments

• Real estate lawyer: about $1,200 to $2,000 plus HST and disbursements. This guide's examples use $1,800.
• Title insurance: about $250 to $800, often bundled into the lawyer's fee.
• Home inspection: about $400 to $600. It is optional, but on a resale home you should get one.
• Adjustments: if the seller has already paid this year's property tax, you pay them back for the days you will own the home. Late in the year that can be more than $1,000.

5. Property tax

Ontario property tax is based on your home's MPAC assessed value, not the price you pay. For 2026 taxes, assessments are still based on January 1, 2016 values↗ (opens in a new tab), so the assessed value is usually well below the sale price. The listing or your lawyer can give you the assessed value for any home.

2026 residential tax rates, applied to the assessed value:

• Oshawa↗ (opens in a new tab): 1.575%, made up of the city, Durham Region and education rates.
• Clarington↗ (opens in a new tab): 1.419%, the same three parts. The average Clarington home is assessed at about $402,500, which works out to about $5,700 a year at 2026 rates.

The worked examples above estimate property tax at 1% of the price a year, the same default the calculators use. Your real bill depends on the assessment.

Ways to bring the cash down

• First Home Savings Account (FHSA)↗ (opens in a new tab): put in up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime limit of $40,000. You get a tax deduction going in and pay no tax coming out for your first home. Up to $8,000 of unused room carries forward, so you can put in as much as $16,000 in one year.
• RRSP Home Buyers' Plan↗ (opens in a new tab): take up to $60,000 out of your RRSP tax free and pay it back over 15 years. For a first withdrawal made in 2026, 2027 or 2028, repayments do not start until the fifth year after.
• Use both: the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan can be combined, for up to $100,000 a person or $200,000 for a couple.
• 30 year amortization: first time buyers and buyers of new homes can get 30 years on an insured mortgage. That lowers the payment and helps you qualify, but you pay more interest over time. See the difference in the mortgage calculator.
• A gifted down payment: family can gift the down payment. Your lender will want a signed gift letter and proof the money is in your account.

Buying new? The HST window closes March 31, 2027

This is the biggest change in years for anyone buying a brand new home in Durham, where thousands of new homes are going up in Bowmanville, Courtice, north Oshawa and Brooklin.

For everyone, not only first time buyers:

• Who qualifies: you sign with a builder between April 1, 2026 and March 31, 2027, for a home that will be your main residence or a close relative's. Construction has to start by the end of 2028. An agreement signed before April 1, 2026 does not qualify, even if it is later changed or assigned.
• What you get: Ontario's enhanced new housing rebate↗ (opens in a new tab) returns up to $80,000 of the 8% provincial part of the HST. A separate Ontario new home affordability payment↗ (opens in a new tab) covers up to $50,000 of the 5% federal part. You claim both on the same CRA rebate forms; a builder may credit them on closing, or Ontario pays after the CRA assesses the claim.
• What that adds up to: up to $130,000, which is the full HST on a home up to $1,000,000. Between $1,000,000 and $1,500,000 the relief stays at the maximum, and it phases out by $1,850,000. Details are in the Ontario 2026 Budget↗ (opens in a new tab).

For first time buyers there are also federal and Ontario first time buyer rebates↗ (opens in a new tab), worth up to $50,000 and $80,000, for agreements signed from March 20, 2025 to December 31, 2030. Here a first time buyer means you have not lived in a home you or your spouse owned in this year or the previous four. They work together with the rebates above, but the total stays capped at $130,000. They matter most after March 31, 2027, when the window for everyone closes. Try a new build in the closing cost calculator.

Before you sign with a builder:

1. Ask how the rebate is handled. Have the builder show you, in writing, whether it is credited to you on closing or whether you claim it yourself. Check whether the price already assumes the older, smaller rebate.
2. Ask for a cap on closing adjustments. New homes come with charges resale homes do not, such as utility hookups, the Tarion enrolment fee↗ (opens in a new tab) (the builder owes it, but many pass it on) and development charge increases. Ask for that cap in writing.
3. Plan for the deposits. Builders usually want 10% to 20% paid in instalments over the first year. That is cash you need long before closing.
4. Have a lawyer read the agreement. A new condo comes with a 10 day cooling off period↗ (opens in a new tab), so the review can happen in those 10 days. A new freehold house has none, so get the review done before you sign, or make the agreement conditional on it.

The rules have several moving parts and the forms are new. Confirm your eligibility with your lawyer before you count on any of this money.

The short version

1. Get pre-approved first. The stress test sets your price range, not the rate in the ads.
2. Plan for cash to close of about 6.5% to 9.3% of the price on a resale home at the minimum down payment.
3. Do not forget the sales tax on mortgage insurance. It is cash, it is due on closing, and it runs from $1,436 to $2,806 in these examples.
4. Durham has no municipal land transfer tax. Compared with Toronto, that is real money.
5. If you are open to a new home, the HST window matters. Decide before the end of March 2027.

Want to see which homes fit your numbers? Ask Natalia's office any time, or book 15 minutes with Natalia. She has helped first time buyers in Durham for 25 years, and here is what some of them say.