First Time Home Buyer Unionville: A Practical Guide

The short answer

• Unionville’s resale market is dominated by condos, which gives first-time buyers more realistic entry points than the area’s detached homes.
• Ontario’s Land Transfer Tax Rebate can refund up to $4,000 of the provincial tax and Markham does not add a municipal land transfer tax on top of it.
• The First Home Savings Account and the Home Buyers’ Plan can both be used toward the same purchase and the earlier you open an FHSA the more room you build.
• The federal First-Time Home Buyer Incentive is no longer accepting new applicants, so do not plan your down payment around it.
• Get pre-approved before you start touring, since Unionville listings in the condo range can move quickly once they’re priced right.

What makes Unionville different for a first time home buyer

Unionville is a neighbourhood within Markham, not a separate city and that matters for your paperwork and your budget. It sits around the historic Main Street core, Too Good Pond and the South Unionville Avenue corridor near the GO station, with a mix of century homes, newer townhomes and a growing stack of condo towers closer to Highway 7 and Downtown Markham.

For a first time home buyer in Unionville, the realistic entry point is almost always a condo. Active listings in the area run heavily toward one and two bedroom units in buildings with amenities like fitness centres, concierge service and rooftop terraces. Detached homes do exist, including some large custom builds near Main Street, but they sit at price points far above what most first-time buyers are working with.

What qualifies you as a first-time buyer in Ontario

The definition changes depending on which program you’re using, which trips people up more than almost anything else in this process.

For the Home Buyers’ Plan and the First Home Savings Account, you generally qualify if you (and your spouse, if you have one) did not own and live in a home during the current calendar year or the previous four years. That means someone who owned a home a decade ago, sold it and has rented since can still qualify.

For Ontario’s Land Transfer Tax Rebate, the bar is higher. You must never have owned a home or an interest in one anywhere in the world and your spouse cannot have owned one while you were together. Because these tests differ, confirm your eligibility with your real estate lawyer early, ideally before you write an offer, not after.

Incentives worth understanding before you shop in Unionville

Ontario Land Transfer Tax Rebate

Ontario refunds part of the provincial land transfer tax for qualifying first-time buyers, up to a cap that is commonly cited around $4,000. That fully offsets the tax on homes priced in the mid $300,000 range, which is below almost anything in Unionville, so expect the rebate to reduce your tax bill rather than remove it entirely. Markham does not layer on a separate municipal land transfer tax the way Toronto does, so you are only dealing with the provincial tax here. Your lawyer applies the rebate for you at closing and you should ask them to confirm the current maximum before you budget around it.

First Home Savings Account (FHSA)

The FHSA is a registered account built specifically for first-time buyers. Contributions are tax-deductible, growth inside the account is tax-sheltered and withdrawals are tax-free when used for a qualifying home purchase, up to a lifetime contribution limit. The earlier you open one, even with modest contributions, the more room and growth you’ll have by the time you’re ready to buy in Unionville.

Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP)

The HBP lets you withdraw funds from your RRSP, tax-free, to put toward your first home, up to a per-person limit. You repay the withdrawal back into your RRSP over a set number of years afterward and missed repayments get added to your taxable income for that year. Many buyers use the FHSA and HBP together to boost a single down payment.

Federal First-Time Home Buyer Incentive: discontinued

This federal shared-equity program, administered through CMHC, stopped accepting new applications as of March 31, 2024. If you’ve seen it mentioned in older guides, it no longer applies to a new purchase and you should build your plan around the FHSA, HBP and provincial rebate instead. If you already hold an active Incentive from before the cutoff, CMHC still processes repayments and certain post-approval changes.

Condos versus detached homes in Unionville: what fits a first budget

Most first time home buyer activity in Unionville happens in the condo segment and for good reason. Condos give a first-time buyer more choice, more price points and more turnover for someone starting out.

Property type	Typical fit for first-time buyers	What to budget for
Condo apartment	Most common entry point; wide range of buildings and sizes near Main Street and South Unionville	Purchase price, maintenance fees, status certificate review, possible parking/locker cost
Townhome	Middle ground for buyers who want more space without a full detached price tag	Purchase price, lower or no maintenance fees unless part of a complex, property taxes
Detached home	Limited supply at entry-level pricing; many listings are larger custom or century homes	Higher purchase price, full property tax and insurance costs, more maintenance responsibility

What else to budget for beyond the down payment

Your down payment is the headline number, but it is not the only cost of buying your first home in Markham’s Unionville area.

• Land transfer tax, after your rebate, if you qualify as a first-time buyer under Ontario’s rules.
• Legal fees and disbursements, including title insurance.
• A home inspection for a freehold property or a status certificate review (often by a lawyer) for a condo.
• Moving costs and an initial reserve for repairs or furnishing.
• Ongoing condo maintenance fees if you’re buying an apartment-style unit, which vary by building and amenities.

Getting ready to make an offer in Unionville

A pre-approval from a lender or mortgage broker tells you your real price range before you fall for a listing you can’t actually afford. It also signals to a seller that your offer is credible, which matters in a competitive segment like well-priced Unionville condos.

Once you’re pre-approved, it’s worth sitting down with a local agent to talk through which buildings or streets tend to hold value, what maintenance fees look reasonable for the amenities offered and how Unionville’s condo inventory compares to similar options elsewhere in Markham. A first time home buyer in Unionville benefits from local knowledge here more than almost anywhere else in the process, since building reputation and fee structures vary a lot even within a few blocks of each other.

What to do next

• Open a First Home Savings Account this week if you don’t already have one, even with a small initial contribution.
• Check your RRSP balance and talk to a mortgage professional about how much of it you could use through the Home Buyers’ Plan.
• Get pre-approved so you know your real budget before you start touring.
• Ask a lawyer to confirm your eligibility for Ontario’s Land Transfer Tax Rebate based on your ownership history.
• Start a shortlist of Unionville buildings or streets and compare maintenance fees, taxes and resale trends before you fall for one listing.

If you’re working through any of this and want someone who knows the Unionville market specifically, reach out to Kirby Chan. I can walk you through current listings, help you figure out what your budget realistically buys in this neighbourhood and connect you with lenders and lawyers who handle first-time buyer paperwork regularly. There’s no pressure to move faster than you’re ready for, just a clearer picture of your options.