$2.1M already committed to help post-secondary grads buy 1st home in Sask.

Kaleigh Macguire moved into her new home this week – a home she was able to purchase thanks in part to an interest-free loan from the province.

Living up to an election promise, the government started offering the Graduate Retention Program First Home Plan in May. Macguire is one of 230 recent university graduates who have been approved for a loan.

“It was a saviour because with the rental market being so high as it is, we were pretty much paying a mortgage payment, it was just to come up with the down payment,” explained Macguire.

The idea of the program is to allow university graduates to borrow up to $10,000 interest free for a down payment on their first home. The loan is borrowed against their remaining graduate retention tax credits then paid back through the money they would be getting under the retention program over the remaining years they qualify to get it.

“We heard about this program so we got our application in right away and I am standing here now a home owner,” Macguire said with a grin.

Macguire graduated with a history degree from the University of Regina last year. She said the application process was smooth and very easy to understand. More information can be found on the government ‘s website. 

Advanced Education Minister Scott Moe said the program is a good incentive to keep graduates in the province. He noted that the first application came in within 17 minutes of the government launching it. 

More than $2.1 million worth of loans have already been approved. The government has already paid out $450,000.