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10 stouffvuksuntribunem saturday august 112007 madd mothers against drunk driving 1800665madd hiis message brought to you as a community service of trie economist sunsuntribune 400k for a fixerupper with 250000 in their pockets firsttime homebuyers out of luck in york region salesperson says by david fleischer staff writer it used to be the suburban dream an affordable house on the fringes of the city with a spacious yard the perfect place to start a family but the downside of our booming housing market is becoming apparent as starter homes once a defining feature of brk region are disappearing it was just shocking said leanne shapiro of the househunting expedition ggtss sill jggjg b1 c 2 o o cjc c o jssic cm o co pn co ob c i8fe ty 2 h m o ez t3 issc ids o o j co i o cd ci o v fe 52 a s co cr co 3 s oi 5co j3 co o 3 co 3 cm d ro jj co 3 f gfglfi ocin o o r cm s3 1 to cd co co 3 co fosp j2 e io co co 3 ho 5 1 i n s 5- xj g cd co 8 s co c3 gcmsigr ij co 2 co co cd will ll- cm 3 g 5 s cd co ills so cdo c c oscj3h q 1 e co g o g s g s s m e c c co i- t o q sj is 5 co o cd fecm cd cd cm ce m cd 5 c 59 co o c 10001 cosi jz a c cjj c o cd t flip r5 co co c e3 s c co s m f- co 2 c sit 2f sfe sicssfe eot c co ipll oo s2 o s r t3 d z d o 5 s oco o3 r 03 cd etc c s 3 s s3 3 o9 s co o 3 o she and husband ari recently endured the couple rent in the dufferin street and rutherford road area otvaughan with theirtwoyearold daughter natasha they were hoping to find something nearby if not even closer to the jewish community centred to the east and south a conveniently located daycare centre for natasha was also a consideration a couple of houses came up in the area and the price was astronomical or the house was tiny or in terrible condi tion ms shapiro said on multiple occasions they went to a listing that proclaimed it was a premium lot only to find railroad tracks in the back yard or nearby she said but the shapiros situation is hardly unique according to a firsttime homebuyers survey by genworth financial the average price of first homes in 2006 was 222000 in canada you dont have to do much looking around york region to see that such aver age homes are few and far between the average cost of a home in york region is now in excess of 400000 since that number takes the entire region into account it is easy to see how those who work in toronto are finding it harder to find a nice new home close to the steeles avenue border ninetyfive per cent of coldwell banker agent tara rosens clients are firsttime homebuyers and with an average of 250000 to spend there is virtually noth ing to show in the southern half of york region she said some houses can be found in new market and georgina and there are some condominiums in that range in richmond hill but close to the city forget it she said the good newsfor those in the market however is banks want your business and are creating programs to help new home- buyers get their foot in the door down payments are often the biggest barrier for new homeowners so scotia- bank has started offering a 100 per cent mortgage program a second scotiabank program pays the 5 per cent minimum down payment for those who opt for an insured five or seven- year fixed rate mortgage we saw quite a few canadians saying that owning a home was an important financial goal but a significant group said they werent achieving it because they couldnt afford a down payment scotiabanks managing director of mort gages charles lambert said the payback program and the 100 per cent mortgage are part of an overall evolu tion in the market he said our goal is to be able to get firsttime homebuyers into a new home mr lam bert said he said business has been pretty steady since the program was launched last octo ber in june first national financial lp launched its own program called the self- insured mortgage everyone who buys a house while making a down payment of less than 20 per cent must make a onetime mortgage insurance payment but first nationals program helps them shave 40 per cent off that payment on a 250000 home that amounts to an approximate 1000 savings the canada mortgage and housing corporation cmhq also has incentive programs those purchasing an environmentally friendly home for example can receive a 10percent refund on their mortgage loan insurance they are also eligible for extended amortization periods