Mortgage Payment Calculator

Buying property in Sherwood Park and Strathcona County

A home is the largest purchase most households ever make, and in the Sherwood Park and Edmonton market it pays to know your payment before you start shopping. This calculator estimates your regular mortgage payment from the price, your down payment, the interest rate and the amortization period, using the semi-annual compounding convention that Canadian fixed-rate mortgages follow by law. That makes the result realistic, unlike generic tools that use American monthly compounding and quietly understate the payment.

Alberta buyers enjoy a real advantage at closing: the province charges no land-transfer tax, so the closing costs that can run to thousands of dollars in Ontario or British Columbia are far lower here. That does not change your mortgage payment, but it does change how much cash you need on closing day.

Down payments, insurance and amortization

The national minimum down payment is 5% on the first $500,000 of the purchase price and 10% on any portion above that. A down payment under 20% requires CMHC mortgage-default insurance, which is added to your mortgage balance — this estimate does not include the insurance premium, so factor it in if you are putting down less than 20%. Choosing a shorter amortization raises the payment but dramatically cuts the total interest you pay over the life of the loan, and switching to accelerated bi-weekly payments adds the equivalent of one extra monthly payment a year.

The tax side of owning property

While we are accountants rather than mortgage brokers, the tax treatment of property is squarely our work. If you rent out a suite or a second property, the income is taxable and many expenses are deductible; if you run a business from home, a portion of your housing costs may be claimable; and when you eventually sell, the principal-residence exemption and capital-gains rules come into play. We help Sherwood Park and Edmonton homeowners structure all of this correctly.