Canadians work hard to be able to afford a home. However, the high cost of mortgage payments is a barrier to homeownership, especially for Millennials and Gen Z. To help more Canadians, particularly younger generations, buy a first home, on September 16, 2024, the federal government announced the boldest mortgage reforms in decades.
Today, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, announced technical guidance for lenders and insurers to ensure Canadians can benefit from these mortgage reforms by December 15, 2024:
- Increasing the $1 million price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5 million, to reflect current housing market realities and help more Canadians qualify for a mortgage with a downpayment below 20 per cent. Increasing the insured-mortgage cap-which has not been adjusted since 2012-to $1.5 million will help more Canadians buy a home.
- Expanding eligibility for 30 year mortgage amortizations to all first-time homebuyers and to all buyers of new builds, to reduce the cost of monthly mortgage payments and help more Canadians buy a home. By helping Canadians buy new builds, including condos, the government is announcing yet another measure to incentivize more new housing construction and tackle the housing shortage. This builds on the Budget 2024 commitment, which came into effect on August 1, 2024, permitting 30 year mortgage amortizations for first-time homebuyers purchasing new builds, including condos.
These measures are the most significant mortgage reforms in decades and part of the federal government's plan to build 4 million new homes-the most ambitious housing plan in Canadian history-to help more Canadians become homeowners.
As we build 4 million more homes, communities need help building more infrastructure. That is why the federal government is investing $6 billion through the Canada Housing Infrastructure Fund to build and upgrade core infrastructure in communities, including drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid waste infrastructure. The government has started negotiations with provinces and territories on key actions they can take to increase housing supply, in exchange for their share of $5 billion in federal funding. To deliver funding for urgent municipal infrastructure priorities, applications for the $1 billion municipal stream will open next month.
