More 30-year Mortgages & Higher Values For Insured Mortgages

Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced Monday Canadians will be able to borrow for longer, while also increasing the maximum value for insured mortgages, potentially giving buyers more money in the housing market.

• Effective Dec 15th, 2024. 

• Cap on the maximum purchase price will increase from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 for downpayments of less than 20%.

• The maximum amortization period will increase to 30 years. 

• The last change to these rules was in 2012.

What This Means for Buyers

• Increased buying power of about 9%. Someone making $100,000 with a 10% downpayment would qualify for a purchase price of about $475,000 under the old rules (25 year amortization). Now they qualify for a purchase price of about $530,000 with a 30 year amortization.

• Lower payments: on a $750,000 mortgage if a buyer elected a 30 year amortization the monthly payment would be $3,800. On a 25 year amortization it was $4,200, a difference of $400 per month.

While these changes are new and details will follow over the next few weeks, it is important to note that the current minimum downpayment is 5% on the first $500,000 of the purchase price and 10% on the remainder of the purchase price. We expect that to remain the same.