Nearly 60% of new CMHC-insured mortgage volume has longer amortizations

Longer amortizations continued to account for the majority of CMHC’s new insured homeowner mortgage volume in the second quarter, although their share eased slightly from the beginning of the year.

Mortgages with amortizations longer than 25 years accounted for 58.6% of transactional homeowner insurance volume, down from 60.4% in the first quarter but up from 51.0% a year earlier. In the final quarter of 2024, when the expanded rules took effect only in mid-December, the share was just 4.6%.

The figures are based on the value of mortgages insured, rather than the number of individual loans.

The increase has occurred since the federal government expanded eligibility for 30-year insured amortizations in December 2024 to include all first-time homebuyers and all buyers of newly built homes. At the same time, the maximum price for an insured mortgage was raised to $1.5 million.

CMHC’s average amortization at origination reached 27.9 years during the quarter, down slightly from 28.0 years in Q1 but up from 27.5 years a year earlier and 25.1 years at the end of 2024.

Higher prices and more variable-rate borrowing

CMHC insured 18,309 transactional homeowner mortgages during the quarter, up 1% from the same period last year. The value of those mortgages rose at a much faster pace, increasing 9% to $7.6 billion.

That gap partly reflects the higher prices attached to newly insured purchases. The average purchase price increased to $434,434 from $404,958 a year earlier.

Homes priced above $600,000 accounted for just over 25% of insured properties, compared with about 21% a year earlier. The share priced above $1 million rose to 3.1% from 2.2%.

Variable-rate mortgages also accounted for a larger share of insured purchase volume than they did a year ago, rising to 28.8% from 19.7%, though that was down from 36.6% in the first quarter.

Fixed-rate mortgages continued to account for the majority of new insured purchase activity, at 71.2%.

Despite the shift toward longer amortizations and more expensive homes, the credit profile of newly insured borrowers remained strong. The average credit score at origination rose to 789 from 787 a year earlier, while borrowers with scores of at least 780 accounted for 61.2% of volume.

Arrears edge higher but remain low

There was also a modest increase in homeowner arrears, though they remained low by historical standards. At the end of June, 2,894 insured mortgages were in arrears, representing 0.42% of CMHC’s homeowner portfolio, compared with 2,822 mortgages and a rate of 0.38% a year earlier.

Claims paid on transactional homeowner insurance rose to $10 million during the quarter from $4 million a year earlier, which CMHC attributed to more claims from recent mortgage vintages, higher average claim amounts and differences in payment timing. Even with the increase, the agency said claims “remain below historical norms.”

Across all of CMHC’s insured business, the arrears rate stood at 0.33%, up slightly from 0.32% at the end of 2025.

Multi-unit residential insurance continued to drive the expansion of CMHC’s overall insurance portfolio. Multi-unit insurance-in-force reached $287 billion, up from $233 billion a year earlier, while transactional homeowner insurance remained roughly unchanged at $159 billion.

CMHC’s total insurance-in-force rose to $497 billion from $452 billion, leaving it well below its legislated limit of $800 billion.

“CMHC’s second-quarter results reflect continued strong demand for the services and products we provide,” chief financial officer Michel Tremblay said in a statement.

Q2 highlights

• Homeowner mortgages insured: 18,309, up 1% year over year
• Value insured: $7.6 billion, up 9%
• Average purchase price: $434,434, up 7%
• Longer amortizations: 58.6% of homeowner mortgage volume, down from 60.4% in Q1 but up from 51.0% a year ago
• Variable-rate share: 28.8%, up from 19.7% a year ago
• Homeowner arrears: 0.42%, up from 0.38%
• Multi-unit units insured: 141,345 year to date, up 3%
• Total insurance-in-force: $497 billion, up from $452 billion
• Net income: $465 million, up 11%

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Last modified: September 1, 2026