If there ever was a good time to buy a home and stop renting this may be the time.

Interest rates are at an all-time low, as low as the prime lending rate with some lenders and currently 2.25 per cent for a variable rate mortgage and for a fixed five-year rate mortgage at 3.99 per cent or $4.43 per $1,000 of mortgage for a 35-year mortgage.

So what would the payments be on a $100,000 mortgage with five per cent down amortized over 35 years and fixed payments for five years – $432 monthly. Of course, this assumes an approved credit. Property taxes, heat and lights are extra.

So what are the incentives for first-time home buyers? Canada’s “economic action plan” gives you some help, for example, the first time home buyers tax credit, introduced in 2009, allows for a $5,000 non-refundable income tax credit equal to $750 to help off set the costs of a down payment plus legal fees, disbursements and land transfer taxes.

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