Acres

CMHC insurance

Your minimum down payment and the mortgage insurance premium on a home with less than 20% down.

CMHC premium

$17,100

4% of a $427,500 loan

The purchase

$
$
5% of the price · minimum $22,500
Amortization
30 years with under 20% down: first-time buyers and new builds only. Adds 0.20% to the premium.

Your numbers

Minimum down payment5% of the first $500,000, 10% of the rest, 20% from $1.5M
$22,500
Your down payment5%
$22,500
Loan-to-value
95%
Mortgage before insurance
$427,500
Premium
$17,100
Total mortgageThe premium is normally added to the mortgage
$444,600
Nova Scotia doesn't charge provincial sales tax on the premium, so there's nothing extra to pay in cash at closing for it.
How it works
  • The premium is a percentage of the loan, set by how much you put down: 4.00% with 5% to 9.99% down, 3.10% with 10% to 14.99%, and 2.80% with 15% to 19.99%.
  • A 30-year amortization (first-time buyers and new builds) adds 0.20% to the premium.
  • Homes priced at $1.5 million or more can't be insured, so they need 20% down.
  • The premium is usually added to the mortgage. Nova Scotia doesn't charge provincial sales tax on it.

Sources

CMHC: Mortgage loan insurance premiums

Estimate only. Uses CMHC's published premium rates for purchases with 5% to 19.99% down, plus the 0.20% surcharge for amortizations over 25 years. Premiums are higher with a non-traditional (borrowed) down payment.