Can I get a 30-year amortization in BC as a non-first-time buyer?

Direct answer

It depends on whether your mortgage is INSURED (less than 20% down, requiring CMHC, Sagen, or Canada Guaranty default insurance) or UNINSURED (20%+ down). Effective December 15, 2024, INSURED mortgages allow 30-year amortization ONLY for two specific buyer categories: (1) first-time home buyers (no ownership of a home in Canada or anywhere else in the prior four calendar years), AND (2) buyers of newly constructed homes (any buyer, FTHB status not required). Existing-owner buyers of resale property remain capped at 25-year amortization on insured mortgages. UNINSURED mortgages — those at 20%+ down — are not subject to the federal amortization rule; lenders are free to offer 30-year amortizations as a commercial decision and most major banks do. So a non-FTHB buying a $1.4M Burnaby resale single-family with 20% down ($280K) can typically get a 30-year amortization on the $1.12M uninsured mortgage; the same buyer with 10% down ($140K) could not (the insured 25-year cap applies, and they could not access the new-build 30-year extension because the home is resale). Practitioner truth: "putting 20% down to get the 30-year amortization" can cut monthly payments meaningfully but materially increases the down-payment requirement and locks up cash that might earn more elsewhere. Run the cash-flow vs opportunity-cost math with your mortgage broker before deciding.