Energy Efficient Mortgage
Learn about energy-efficient mortgages in Canadian real estate — what they fund, their benefits, and how they support green housing.
July 29, 2025
What is an Energy-Efficient Mortgage?
An energy-efficient mortgage (EEM) is a mortgage product that provides additional financing or preferred terms to support energy-saving home upgrades or purchases.
Why Energy-Efficient Mortgages Matter in Real Estate
In Canadian real estate, EEMs help buyers reduce long-term utility costs while promoting environmental sustainability.
Key features:
- Extra funds for upgrades like insulation, windows, HVAC
- May offer lower interest rates or insurance premium rebates
- Requires energy audit or certification
Understanding EEMs helps buyers plan renovations and reduce operating costs.
Example of an Energy-Efficient Mortgage in Action
The buyer obtained an energy-efficient mortgage and used the funds to upgrade to high-performance windows and a heat pump system.
Key Takeaways
- Supports energy-saving home upgrades
- May lower borrowing costs or premiums
- Requires verification of improvements
- Reduces long-term operating costs
- Aligns with sustainability goals
Related Terms
- Building Code
- Capital Expenditures
- Mortgage
- Property Maintenance
- Green Building Certification
6525 Mississauga Road and its surrounding context. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
Property details for 6525 Mississauga Road. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)