CMHC Default Insurance Cap
Also known as: CMHC · CMHC cap · CMHC insurance · CMHC default insurance · Mortgage insurance cap
The maximum home purchase price eligible for CMHC default mortgage insurance — raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 effective December 15, 2024.
CMHC default mortgage insurance allows buyers to purchase a home with as little as 5% down (on the first $500,000) plus 10% on the portion between $500,000 and the cap. Effective December 15, 2024, the maximum eligible purchase price for default-insured mortgages was raised from $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 — the most material loosening of the high-ratio mortgage market in over a decade.
Above the $1,500,000 cap, conventional 20%-down financing is required. The same December 15, 2024 reform also extended 30-year amortization eligibility to all first-time home buyers and to all buyers purchasing newly constructed housing, regardless of the property's purchase price.
Related terms
- 30-Year Amortization Eligibility — A December 15, 2024 reform permitting 30-year amortization on CMHC-insured mortgages for first-time home buyers (any property) and any buyer purchasing newly constructed housing.
- OSFI Mortgage Stress Test (B-20) — OSFI Guideline B-20 requires federally-regulated lenders to qualify mortgage borrowers at the greater of (a) the contract rate plus 2 percentage points or (b) the Bank of Canada qualifying rate (5.
- Bridge Financing — A short-term loan from a lender that covers the gap between the down-payment-due date on a buyer's NEW home and the cash proceeds released on closing of their EXISTING home — typically funded for up to 90-120 days.
- Leasehold Property in BC — A property ownership interest in BC where the buyer purchases the building (or strata unit) but rents the underlying land from a long-term lessor — common on UBC Endowment Lands, certain First Nations reserves, and Crown-leased land — with a fixed lease end-date that materially affects financing and resale value.
See also
Use any of these formats. Codex content is licensed under CC BY 4.0 — attribution required.
@misc{bronsonjob-cmhc_insurance_cap,
author = {Job, Bronson},
title = {{CMHC default insurance maximum purchase price}},
howpublished = {BC Real Estate Codex},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#cmhc.insurance_cap},
urldate = {2026-05-08},
note = {Fact ID: cmhc.insurance_cap, version 2.}
}Job, B. (2026). CMHC default insurance maximum purchase price. *BC Real Estate Codex*. Retrieved 2026-05-08, from https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#cmhc.insurance_cap
CMHC default insurance maximum purchase price — Bronson Job PREC, BC Real Estate Codex (2026-05-08). https://www.bronsonjob.com/codex#cmhc.insurance_cap
Fact id: cmhc.insurance_cap · v2 · machine-readable: /api/v1/facts/by-id/cmhc.insurance_cap.json
Verified sources (2)· re-verified 2026-05-08Click to expand
Every claim on this page is sourced to a primary government, regulator, or industry-association URL. We re-verify quarterly; the verification dates below show when each source was last confirmed against the live government page.
- CMHCretrieved 2026-05-08Mortgage Loan Insurance Homeownership Programshttps://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/professionals/project-funding-and-mortgage-financing/mortgage-loan-insurance/cmhc-mortgage-loan-insurance-homeownership-programs
- Government of Canadaretrieved 2026-05-08· published 2024-09-16Government Announces Boldest Mortgage Reforms in Decadeshttps://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2024/09/government-announces-boldest-mortgage-reforms-in-decades-to-unlock-homeownership-for-more-canadians.html
cmhc.insurance_cap · v2View in Codex →License: This definition is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Cite as: "CMHC Default Insurance Cap", BC Real Estate Glossary by Bronson Job, https://www.bronsonjob.com/glossary/cmhc-insurance-cap.
