Porting A Mortgage
Explore what porting a mortgage means in Canadian real estate, how it works, and how it can help homeowners save on penalties and retain low interest rates.
May 22, 2025
What is Porting a Mortgage?
Porting a mortgage is the process of transferring an existing mortgage, including its interest rate and terms, from one property to another when a homeowner moves.
Why Porting a Mortgage Matters in Real Estate
In Canada, many mortgages are portable, meaning they can be moved from one property to another without incurring early prepayment penalties. This is particularly beneficial when interest rates are lower on the original mortgage than current market rates.To port a mortgage, the homeowner must:
- Sell their existing property
- Purchase a new property within a specified timeframe
- Meet lender approval for the new home and mortgage amount
Not all mortgages are portable, and rules vary by lender. Buyers should confirm porting eligibility before making relocation decisions. Timing is crucial, as porting typically must be completed within 30 to 120 days of the original home’s sale.
Understanding mortgage portability allows homeowners to retain favourable rates, reduce penalties, and maintain continuity when upgrading or relocating.
Example of Porting a Mortgage in Action
A homeowner sells their condo in Calgary and buys a detached home. They port their 2.9% mortgage rate to the new property, avoiding higher market rates and penalty fees.
Key Takeaways
- Allows mortgage transfer between properties.
- Helps avoid prepayment penalties.
- May require requalification and timing alignment.
- Beneficial when current rates are higher than original.
- Must confirm with lender before planning to port.
Related Terms
- Prepayment Penalty
- Mortgage Term
- Blend and Extend
- Refinance
- Closing Date
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)
