How much house can you afford on $100K in Quebec?

For a household earning $100,000 gross per year, with a $50,000 down payment, no other debts, $4,000 a year of municipal and school taxes and $100 a month of heating, assuming a 4.2% contract rate: • 25-year amortization: maximum price of about $469,000; • 30-year amortization (first-time buyers, insured mortgage): about $499,000. The actual payment at 4.2% would be about $2,320 a month over 25 years. The 4.2% rate is for illustration only: use the rate you are actually offered in the mortgage affordability calculator.

Lenders don't test your ability to pay at the offered rate, but at a higher qualifying rate: the greater of the contract rate plus 2 points and 5.25%. The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) requires it for uninsured mortgages, and CMHC applies the same rate to insured mortgages. With a 4.2% offered rate, you qualify at 6.2%. This is what cuts borrowing capacity the most.

• Gross debt service (GDS): principal and interest (at the qualifying rate) + property taxes + heating + 50% of condo fees, at most 39% of gross income. • Total debt service (TDS): GDS plus your other debts (car loan, student loan, cards), at most 44% of gross income. With $100,000 of income, monthly income is $8,333. The 39% GDS limit gives $3,250 a month. Minus $333 of taxes and $100 of heating leaves $2,817 for principal and interest at the 6.2% qualifying rate, which corresponds to a loan of about $432,000 over 25 years.

Since December 15, 2024, the minimum down payment is 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1.5M. Below 20% down, the mortgage must be insured, and the premium (2.80% to 4.00% of the loan depending on the down payment, plus 0.20 points for a 30-year amortization) is added to the loan. In Quebec, the tax on that premium is not financed: it is paid in cash at the notary's. It is 9% in 2026 (9.975% for premiums paid after December 31, 2026). In our $469,000 example, the premium is about $13,000 and the tax about $1,170.

Same assumptions ($4,000 taxes, $100 a month heating), changing one factor at a time: • 3.8% rate: about $485,000 (25 years) or $514,000 (30 years) • 4.2% rate: about $469,000 (25 years) or $499,000 (30 years) • 4.8% rate: about $447,000 (25 years) or $472,000 (30 years) • $100,000 down instead of $50,000 (4.2%, 25 years): about $520,000 • With a $500 a month car payment: about $457,000 (TDS becomes the limit) • Condo with $350 a month in fees: about $443,000 One rate point up or down moves the maximum price by about $40,000, and a $500 monthly car payment removes about $12,000.

• Welcome tax: about $5,150 on $469,000 under the 2026 provincial brackets. A first-time buyer can get almost all of it back through Quebec's new tax credit (see Montreal welcome tax in 2026) and our welcome tax calculator. • Tax on the mortgage insurance premium: about $1,170, payable in cash. • Notary, inspection, location certificate, moving: often a few thousand dollars. For the down payment, the FHSA and HBP can provide up to $100,000 per person (see FHSA vs HBP in 2026).