What actually changed
Before July 2025, MLI Select premiums were priced closer to a flat schedule regardless of how leveraged a deal was. The new model ties the base premium directly to loan-to-value — the higher the leverage, the higher the base rate before any points-tier discount is applied. This is a structural change, not just a rate adjustment, which is why pre-2025 comps don't just need a small correction — they're using a different pricing logic entirely.
A real worked example
Here's the calculation for a 50-point deal at 90% LTV with a 40-year amortization, under the post-July-2025 schedule:
| Component | Value |
|---|---|
| Base premium (≤90% LTV bracket) | 6.75% |
| Amortization surcharge (40-yr, +0.25% per 5-yr increment past 25 years) | +0.75% |
| Subtotal | 7.50% |
| 50-point tier discount (10%) | −0.75% |
| Final premium | 6.75% |
The detail that trips up manual calculations: the discount applies to the base premium plus the amortization surcharge combined (7.50% in this example), not to the base premium alone. Applying the discount to just the base premium produces a noticeably lower — and incorrect — final number.
How the base premium varies by LTV
The new schedule isn't one flat rate — it scales with leverage. Based on published post-2025 examples, here's what's confirmed versus estimated:
| LTV Bracket | Base Premium | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| ≤65% | ~2.9% | Reported range |
| ≤85% | ~5.35% | Confirmed (cross-checked against two independent examples) |
| ≤90% | ~6.5% | Reported range (6.15–6.75%) |
| 95%+ | ~7.25% | Extrapolated, not directly confirmed |
That last row matters: for a 100-point deal at 95% LTV — the program's top tier — the exact base premium isn't fully confirmed in public sources. Always get a live quote from a CMHC-approved lender before relying on an estimate at that leverage.
Why this catches investors off guard
Real estate investors researching MLI Select often pull comps from a broker's past deal, a case study, or a pro forma template built before mid-2025. If that comp shows a much lower premium than what a current lender quotes, the deal can look meaningfully better on paper than it actually is — enough to change whether it clears CMHC's 1.10× DSCR minimum.
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