Loan-to-value calculator

LTV is the mortgage balance divided by the property value — the single number that drives pricing, insurance and product access. At or under 65% you get the best insurable pricing tier and the full HELOC revolving room; under 80% you can refinance and skip default insurance; over 80% the loan must be insured and the premium scales with the ratio. Lenders publish rate sheets in exactly these bands — First National's, on our rate table, prices ≤65 / 65–70 / 70–75 / 75–80 separately.

Two ways, and only one is in your control: every principal payment lowers the balance, and every move in the market changes the value. A 20% price correction turns an 80% LTV into 100% — which is why the stress test exists and why high-ratio loans carry insurance. Going the other way, prepayments (see your lender's allowance in our lender reviews) are the fastest deliberate route below a threshold.

Almost everything: refinance (pull equity out, restructure, consolidate — all capped at 80%), open a readvanceable mortgage or HELOC (line portion capped at 65%, combined at 80%), drop default insurance on a new purchase, and access 30-year amortizations from most lenders without first-time-buyer conditions. Above 80%, the loan is insured territory: no refinancing, premium costs, but — counterintuitively — often lower rates, because the insurer carries the default risk.

CMHC's premium schedule by LTV: 2.80% of the loan at 80–85%, 3.10% at 85–90%, 4.00% at 90–95% — added to the mortgage, plus a 0.20-point surcharge for 30-year insured amortizations, and provincial sales tax due in cash at closing (8% in Ontario). The affordability calculator applies the full schedule automatically.