St. Catharines · Niagara Region
Mortgages in St. Catharines, compared across lenders
We compare banks, credit unions and monoline lenders for your St. Catharines purchase, renewal or refinance, and explain the trade-offs in plain English.
We help St. Catharines households buy, renew and refinance by comparing banks, credit unions, trust companies and monoline lenders. In September 2026 St. Catharines recorded 100 sales, and its MLS® benchmark price (the price of a typical home) was $517,700 (Niagara Association of REALTORS, checked October 2026). Every mortgage is subject to lender approval; we arrange mortgages for properties in Ontario only.
St. Catharines in numbers
These are the latest published figures we could check for St. Catharines, each with its source and date. They describe the market, not your mortgage.
Home sales, September 2026
- MLS® benchmark price
- $517,700
- Sales
- 100
Residential property tax rate, 2026
- Total rate, urban area
- 1.842187%
Made up of City (the total less the Region and education parts, our subtraction) 0.705026% + Niagara Region general 0.774131% + Niagara Region waste 0.073070% + Niagara Region transit 0.136960% + education 0.153000%. The rate applies to the assessed value set by MPAC (the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation), not to the price you pay.
Renting, October 2025
- Average two-bedroom rent
- $1,527 a month
- Vacancy rate
- 3.9%
A year earlier the rent was $1,474 and vacancy 3.8%. The survey covers purpose-built rental apartments in private buildings of three or more units.
Households, 2021 Census
- Households that own
- 64.4%
- Median household income (2020)
- $72,500
City of St. Catharines (census subdivision 3526053): 58,905 households, population 136,803. Income is for 2020, the year before the census.
GO Lakeshore West line to Union Station
- Scheduled time
- 2 h 1 min
GO train stations: St. Catharines. The time is for the one weekday train, which leaves St. Catharines at 7:03 a.m. and skips some stops. Other weekday GO service is bus route 11 from Brock University or the downtown terminal.
What's different about borrowing in St. Catharines
- St. Catharines is outside the City of Toronto, so a purchase pays Ontario's land transfer tax only. Our land transfer tax calculator shows the amount.
- The 2026 residential property tax rate in St. Catharines is 1.842187% of the home's assessed value in the urban area, counting the City, Niagara Region and education parts (City of St. Catharines, 2026 tax rates, checked October 2026). MPAC sets the assessed value, and it is not the price you pay, so ask for the seller's current tax bill. Lenders count property tax in the housing costs they qualify you on (CMHC debt-service rules, checked October 2026).
- A two-bedroom apartment in the St. Catharines-Niagara census metropolitan area (CMA), which includes St. Catharines, rented for $1,527 a month on average in October 2025, up from $1,474 a year earlier (CMHC, checked October 2026). Vacancy was 3.9%. If you rent now, set that rent against a mortgage payment plus property tax, heat and upkeep.
- In the 2021 Census, 64.4% of households in the City of St. Catharines owned their home, and the median household income in 2020 was $72,500 (Statistics Canada, checked October 2026).
- The GO Lakeshore West line stops at St. Catharines. Its one weekday train leaves St. Catharines at 7:03 a.m. and is scheduled to reach Union Station in 2 hours 1 minute (GO schedule effective 26 October 2026, checked October 2026). If you will commute, put the fare in your budget next to the mortgage payment.
Outside Toronto you pay Ontario's land transfer tax only — work it out with the land transfer tax calculator. Also useful: Ontario closing costs · down payment rules.
Who we help in St. Catharines
We help St. Catharines households buy a first home, move up, renew or refinance. We compare banks, credit unions and monoline lenders (lenders that only do mortgages and work through brokers) first.
A home you won't live in can't carry mortgage default insurance, so lenders ask for a larger down payment. Alternative lenders are the next step when a bank's rules don't fit, at a higher cost. Private money is a short bridge only, and we explain its cost first.
Questions from St. Catharines borrowers
Do I pay Toronto's land transfer tax in St. Catharines?
No. St. Catharines is outside the City of Toronto, so only Ontario's land transfer tax applies.
Can I buy a rental property in St. Catharines?
Yes, with a conventional mortgage. A home you will not live in cannot carry mortgage default insurance. Lenders ask for a larger down payment and look at the expected rent and your other income, subject to lender approval.
Is there down-payment help in St. Catharines?
Not until 2027. Niagara Region's Welcome Home Niagara program is closed for 2026 and the Region says it will reopen in 2027 (Niagara Region, checked October 2026).
When open, it lends up to $66,200 as an interest-free loan forgiven after 20 years, for homes priced up to $662,000. Its limits are income under $95,100 for one person or $113,700 for more, and assets under $50,000, for renters buying a first home.
The federal and Ontario first-time buyer measures still apply: the FHSA, the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan and the land transfer tax refund.
Can I work with you if I live in St. Catharines?
Yes. We work with borrowers across Ontario by phone and online; our office is in Richmond Hill.
Nearby: Niagara Falls · Welland · Hamilton
General information for Ontario borrowers, not advice. Stonefield Mortgage is a trade name of Stonefield Capital Inc., FSRA mortgage brokerage licence #13722.
Sources
- Niagara Association of REALTORS, September statistics package, September 2026, checked October 2026.
- City of St. Catharines, 2026 tax rates, 2026 tax year, checked October 2026.
- CMHC Rental Market Survey, Ontario tables 1.1.1 and 1.1.2, published 11 December 2025, October 2025, checked October 2026.
- Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population, Census Profile, City of St. Catharines (census subdivision 3526053), 2021 Census, checked October 2026.
- GO Transit schedule, table 01 (Lakeshore West line), schedule effective 26 October 2026, checked October 2026.
- Niagara Region, Home repairs and ownership programs, page as read in October 2026, checked October 2026.
- Ontario, Calculating land transfer tax, page updated 22 April 2026, checked October 2026.
- Ontario, Land transfer tax refunds for first-time homebuyers, page updated 10 February 2026, checked October 2026.
- CMHC, Calculating GDS and TDS, debt-service rules for insured mortgages, checked October 2026.
No cost to talk
Talk to a broker about your St. Catharines mortgage
Tell us what you're planning for a home in Ontario and a good number to reach you. We call back within one business day, usually sooner. We ask for documents only once we know which ones your mortgage needs.
You can also call us at (416) 371-2077.