Mortgage Agent in Burlington: Jenny Tate, with an Office on North Service Road

About three in four Burlington households own their home, and six in ten of those owners carry a mortgage (2021 Census). If that is you, the figures for a renewal or for borrowing against the house are under already own in Burlington. If you are buying, start with prices by community, then the down payment and the land transfer tax.

Burlington prices against the $1.5 million line

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reports Burlington as 21 communities. In the second quarter of 2026, 18 of them had enough resale (existing home) sales for prices to be reported: 803 sales in all. In 17 of those 18, the median sale price was under $1.5 million. That is the price at which a mortgage can no longer be insured and 20% down becomes the minimum. The one community above it was Rural Burlington, at $1,937,500. The lowest median was Uptown, at $687,500.

Find the community you are shopping in. The down payment column is the cash the federal minimum takes at that community's median price. These are medians of resale (existing home) sales across all home types, not new-build sales from a builder, so a condo and a detached house in the same community can sit far apart. Shoreacres shows it: the median, $1,409,000, is under the line, while the average, $1,635,450, is over it, so some sales there were above $1.5 million. Run the calculation on the actual price.

TRREB does not report prices where a community had two or fewer sales, so Bronte Creek (no sales), Grindstone (2 sales) and Industrial Burlington (no sales) are left out. Freeman had 14 sales and Rural Burlington 16, so one sale moves their figures more than it would elsewhere. Figures are for Q2 2026. TRREB publishes this report every quarter; the Q3 2026 report was not yet published when this page was checked on October 11, 2026.

Conventional or insured: which one a Burlington purchase is

Two things decide it: the price and the cash you put down. With a federally regulated lender such as a bank, a mortgage for more than 80% of the home's value has to carry mortgage loan insurance. That is an insured, or high-ratio, mortgage. With 20% or more down it is a conventional mortgage, and insurance is not required by law (OSFI Guideline B-20), although a lender may still ask for it.

Insurance is only available below a price of $1.5 million. The federal government raised that cap from $1 million on December 15, 2024. So the minimum down payment follows the price (FCAC down payment rules):

• $500,000 or less: 5% of the price.
• Above $500,000 and below $1.5 million: 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the rest.
• $1.5 million or more: 20% of the price.

Both examples are hypothetical purchases at a community median, not client files. The step at the line is steep: at $1,499,999 the minimum down payment is $124,999.90, and at $1,500,000 it is $300,000.

Insurance has a cost. FCAC puts premiums at 0.6% to 4.5% of the mortgage amount. The premium can be added to the mortgage, but Ontario charges sales tax on it, and that tax is paid in cash when the mortgage is set up. Below $1.5 million, insurance still depends on the lender's and the insurer's approval. To test a payment at your own price and down payment, use the Ontario mortgage calculator.

Closing costs in Burlington: Ontario land transfer tax only

A buyer in Burlington pays Ontario's land transfer tax when the purchase closes. Toronto's Municipal Land Transfer Tax is charged on purchases of property in the City of Toronto, and Burlington is outside the City of Toronto, so that second tax does not apply here.

Ontario charges the tax in steps: 0.5% on the first $55,000, 1.0% from $55,000 to $250,000, 1.5% from $250,000 to $400,000, and 2.0% above $400,000. For a home with one or two single family residences, the part above $2,000,000 is charged 2.5% (Ontario land transfer tax rates).

For contrast, the same $931,500 purchase inside the City of Toronto would be charged Toronto's tax on top of Ontario's. At this price Toronto's posted rates use the same steps, so that is a further $15,105 at the full rate.

Eligible first-time buyers can apply for a refund of the Ontario tax of up to $4,000. Ontario's conditions include being at least 18, being a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, never having owned a home anywhere in the world, and moving in within nine months. Land transfer tax is one closing cost, not the whole list, so ask your lawyer to work out the tax, any refund and the other costs for the actual purchase.

Already own in Burlington: renewal and refinance in numbers

Burlington is mostly a city of owners. In the 2021 Census, 54,955 households owned their home and 18,220 rented, which makes owners 75.1% of the 73,180 households. Of the owner households, 60.0% had a mortgage. The median value owners put on their own dwelling was $900,000 (Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Profile, Burlington). These are 2021 figures and they are owners' estimates, not sale prices.

Renewing

A renewal letter shows one offer, from the lender you already have. Before you sign, put it beside at least one other written offer on the same balance, term and amortization. Moving to another lender at the scheduled end of your term generally avoids an early-break prepayment penalty, but it is not free: discharge, registration, appraisal and administration charges may apply, and the new lender still has to approve your application.

Leave yourself time. FCAC's advice is to start shopping around a few months before the end of your term. The Ontario mortgage renewal guide covers the steps, and the renewal calculator compares two offers side by side using your own figures.

Borrowing against the house

FCAC says you may usually borrow up to 80% of your home's appraised value, less what you still owe on the mortgage. A home equity line of credit on its own is usually limited to 65%.

That is a ceiling, not an approval. The lender also tests income, debts and credit, and breaking a mortgage before the term ends can bring a prepayment penalty, so ask your lender for the payout and penalty figures in writing first. A lower monthly payment is not the same as a lower cost: moving unsecured debt into a mortgage secures it against your home and can spread it over more years. The renewal versus refinance guide sets out what each one can change.

Property tax in a Burlington budget

The City of Burlington reports an overall property tax increase of 4.50% for 2026. The City puts that at $43.71 more for every $100,000 of residential assessment. The bill covers three payees: City services are 52% of it, Halton Region 33% and the Boards of Education 15% (City of Burlington, Understanding Your Property Tax Bill).

Property tax is charged on the assessed value set by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC), multiplied by the tax rates, not on the price you paid. A sale price and an assessment can be far apart, so do not estimate the tax from the price. For a home you are considering, ask for its most recent final tax bill and put that amount into your monthly budget beside the mortgage payment.

What happens on a first call

The first step is a free 15-minute call, booked online or by phone. Jenny asks about your goals, your finances and your timeline. There is no obligation, and a first call is not a mortgage approval.

It goes further if you have the relevant items in front of you:

• for a renewal, the renewal letter and your latest mortgage statement;
• for a purchase, the property details, the price and where the down payment is coming from;
• an outline of your income and how it is documented;
• any written offer you already have from a lender.

Please do not send a SIN, a banking password or full financial documents by email or through the contact form.

Reach Jenny at (647) 642-7249 or info@jenny.mortgage, book a time online, or send a message.

Oakville and Hamilton

Burlington sits between Oakville and Hamilton, and Jenny works with borrowers in both. Each has its own guide: the Oakville mortgage guide and the Hamilton mortgage guide.

Burlington mortgage FAQ

Sources and method

Every figure on this page was checked against these sources on October 11, 2026. Community figures are copied from TRREB's report, which covers resale (existing home) transactions of all home types. Down payments, land transfer tax and the equity illustration are calculated by us from the published rules, and the worked examples are hypothetical.

• Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, Community Housing Market Report, Halton - Burlington, Q2 2026 (summary of existing home transactions, all home types: sales, median and average prices by community). Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, How much you need for a down payment (minimum down payment tiers, insurance premiums), page dated October 15, 2025. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• Department of Finance Canada, Boldest mortgage reforms in decades come into force today ($1.5 million insured price cap), December 15, 2024. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions, Guideline B-20, Residential mortgage underwriting practices and procedures (insured and conventional mortgages), dated October 31, 2017. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• Government of Ontario, Calculating land transfer tax (tax rates), updated April 22, 2026; Land transfer tax refunds for first-time homebuyers, updated February 10, 2026; Land transfer tax, updated January 2, 2026. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• City of Toronto, Municipal Land Transfer Tax rates and fees, modified April 7, 2026. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• Statistics Canada, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population, Burlington, City (households by tenure, owner households with a mortgage, median value of dwellings), released September 21, 2022. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• Financial Consumer Agency of Canada, Borrowing against home equity and Renewing your mortgage, pages dated October 15, 2025. Retrieved October 11, 2026.
• City of Burlington, Understanding Your Property Tax Bill (2026 increase and bill split). Retrieved October 11, 2026.

This page is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules and programs change; confirm your own figures with your lender, your lawyer and the official sources.