Mortgage Financing

Canada Mortgage Calculators

Ready to buy a home and get a mortgage some time soon? Know what you'll be signing up for with Ratehub.ca’s mortgage calculators. Understanding how much your monthly mortgage payments will be is crucial to getting a mortgage that you can afford.

The mortgage payment calculator calculates your monthly payment and shows you the corresponding cash needed to close on your next property, what you can expect for monthly expenses, your interest rate risk, and amortization schedule. If you are purchasing a home, this payment calculator allows you to test down payment and amortization scenarios, and compare variable and fixed mortgage rates. This calculator will also help you calculate CMHC insurance and land transfer tax.

Why use a mortgage payment calculator?

When planning to buy a home, it's easy to focus on the final purchase price or your mortgage amount. But actually, the most relevant number to you will be your regular repayment. After all, your mortgage payments are the amount that you'll need to take from your pay cheque each month.

What is a mortgage payment?

Your mortgage payment is the amount of money you must pay every month to pay down, and ultimately pay off, your mortgage loan. Your mortgage payment covers both the principal (the actual amount of the loan) and the interest on the loan. It can also include mortgage default insurance, also sometimes known as CMHC insurance (required when your down payment is less than 20% of the cost of your home), property taxes and other fees. When you first begin making payments, more of it goes towards covering interest, but over time, more of your payment will eventually go to paying down your mortgage balance.

What are some factors that can affect your mortgage payments?

There are several key factors that can affect the size of your mortgage payments. Some of these include:

• Your home price: This dictates how much you will need to borrow.
• Your down payment: The more you are able to pay up front towards the purchase of your home, the smaller your required mortgage amount. In turn, the smaller your monthly mortgage payment will be.
• Your total mortgage amount: This is the price of your new home, less the down payment, plus mortgage insurance, if applicable.
• Your interest rate: The lower the interest rate on your mortgage, the lower your monthly payments will be. Ratehub.ca can help you find the best mortgage rates available today to keep your payment as low as possible. When choosing between a variable or fixed mortgage rate, generally speaking, variable rates provide lower mortgage payments as they tend to be lower. According to a landmark 2001 study, historically, over 90% of Canadians who have maintained a variable mortgage rate throughout their entire mortgage term have paid less in interest than those who have stuck to a fixed rate. However, if you seek stability throughout your mortgage term, a fixed rate may be more suitable for you.
• Your amortization period: Your amortization period is the length of time it takes to pay off your entire mortgage. The longer your amortization period is, the lower your monthly mortgage payments will be. That said, since it will take you a longer time to pay off your mortgage, you will end up paying more in interest.

When browsing real estate listings for a new home, the first step is to figure out how much mortgage you can afford. Affordability is based on the household income of the applicants purchasing the house, the personal monthly expenses of those applicants (car payments, credit expenses, etc.), and the expenses associated with owning a home (property taxes, condo fees, and heating costs). The calculator below will show you the maximum purchase price that you can qualify for.

You also need to determine if you have enough cash resources to purchase a home. The cash required is derived from the down payment put towards the purchase price, as well as the closing costs that must be incurred to complete the purchase. Ratehub.ca can help you estimate these closing costs with the first tab under the affordability calculator, which will help you determine how much house you can afford.

Explore different calculators here: Payment - Affordability - Mortgage Insurance - Land Transfer Tax - Refinance - Maximum Equity Refinance - Penalty - Debt Consolidation