Mortgage insurance premiums to be hiked by CMHC by March 2017.

CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation) will charge borrowers a few dollars more every month to insure their mortgages from March 2017.

By law, anyone putting down less than 20 % of the purchase price of a home in Canada must pay mortgage insurance, even though the homeowners themselves don't benefit from that coverage.

Under new rules starting March 17, the CMHC will charge four per cent of that loan's value to insure the loan. That pushes the premium to $27,297, an increase of $2,730 or $12 a month.

The changes will only affect mortgage applications received as of March 17. Anyone who already has a mortgage or has applied for one will be grandfathered into the old rates.

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