The federal government on September 24, 2024 announced expanded parameters for lenders and insurers to begin offering insured mortgages effective December 15, 2024. The expanded parameters include:

1. Expanding the eligibility for 30-year amortizations.
2. Increasing the $1 million cap to $1.5 million.

To qualify for the 30-year amortization:

• the loan to value must be 80% or more; and
• the borrower must be a first-time homebuyer or purchaser of a new build.

To be considered a first-time homebuyer, a borrower must meet one of the following criteria:

• The borrower has never purchased a home before.
• In the last four years, the borrower has not occupied a home as a principal place of residence that either they themselves or their current spouse or common-law partner owned.
• The borrower recently experienced the breakdown of a marriage or common-law partnership.
• To be considered a newly constructed home, the new home must not have been previously occupied for residential purposes.

To qualify for the increased $.1.5 million cap price:

• the loan to value must be 80% or more;
• the value of the eligible residential property against which the loan is secured must be less than $1.5 million; and
• the downpayment must be:
  • 5 per cent on the portion of a purchase price up to $500,000, and
  • 10 per cent on the portion of a purchase price between $500,000 and $1.5 million.