25- or 30-year amortization: what it really changes, city by city

Who qualifies for 30 years? The exact rule

Insured loan (down payment under 20%). The standard amortization is 25 years. Since December 2024, the federal rules allow 30 years for first-time buyers and buyers of new builds, with a 0.20-point insurance surcharge. Reminder: the insured-mortgage cap is $1.5M (raised in December 2024).

Uninsured loan (20%+ down). 30 years is widely offered by lenders, with no first-time condition — that is the table's assumption below (20% down), which isolates the amortization's pure effect.

Either way, you qualify at the stress test — the higher of 5.25% and your rate + 2 points, i.e. 6.34% at the current average rate.

The 30-year effect in 63 cities

On each city's reference home (board-published price, dated), with 20% down at the average 5-year fixed of 4.34%: the payment at 25 and 30 years, the monthly saving, the EXTRA total interest over the life of the loan (at the same constant rate), and the qualifying income spared. Ranked by price, descending.

"Extra interest" rounded to the hundred: the difference between the total paid over 360 months at 30 years and over 300 months at 25, at the same constant 4.34% — in reality the rate resets at each term; the figure illustrates the order of magnitude of going slow. Required income computed like our income-by-city dossier (test at 6.34%, 39% GDS, 1%/yr taxes, $150/month heating, no other debts).

The method, in full

The payment. Canadian mortgage payment (semi-annual compounding) on 80% of the reference price, at 4.34% — the average 5-year fixed published by the Bank of Canada. That is the rate you PAY; qualification happens at the 6.34% test.

The 30-year's cost. Stretching the loan by 5 years shrinks each payment but adds 60 of them, during which principal melts more slowly — so more interest, for longer. The "extra interest" column prices that trade at the constant rate: an honest order of magnitude, not a prediction of your next 30 years of rates.

The income spared. Same mechanics as our income-to-buy dossier: gross income required at the stress test, 39% GDS, at 25 then 30 years. The gap is the real "buying power" a 30-year returns to a tight file.

Regeneration. Table recomputed on every data update (last generated: July 30, 2026) — if the Bank of Canada moves or a board publishes a new price, everything follows.

How to read these figures

The 30-year is an access tool, not a discount. It lowers the payment by about 9.1% and the required income by about 5.6% — for a file at the edge of qualification, that is often THE difference between buying and waiting. But the loan costs distinctly more in total: it trades liquidity for interest; it does not save money.

Discipline can cancel the surcharge. Take the 30-year to qualify, then use prepayment privileges (most loans allow 10-20% per year penalty-free) to repay at a 25-year pace: you keep the low payment's flexibility AND avoid the interest bill. The opposite — taking 30 years and settling in — pays the "extra interest" column in full.

Eligibility decides before you do. Below 20% down, the 30-year requires being a first-time buyer or buying new (since December 2024) — and adds a 0.20-point surcharge. See our first-time buyer programs and down payment dossiers for the full rules.

Frequently asked questions