Lately we’ve had more mortgage brokers and realtors reaching out, asking which CMHC programs they should be flagging for their clients. The two worth knowing about are CMHC Eco Plus and CMHC Eco Improvement.

Both put real money back in a buyer’s pocket after closing, in the form of a 25% refund on their CMHC mortgage loan insurance premium. On a typical Okanagan purchase, that’s thousands of dollars showing up months after the deal is done.

CMHC Eco Plus applies to new builds. CMHC Eco Improvement applies to renovations on existing homes. Most homebuyers don’t know either exists, and a lot of brokers and agents don’t either, which means there’s an opportunity sitting on the table for the people who do.

Here’s how each one works, and why this matters for your business.

01What is CMHC Eco Plus?

Eco Plus gives homebuyers a 25% partial refund on their CMHC mortgage loan insurance premium when they buy a newly built, energy-efficient home with a CMHC-insured mortgage.

The qualifying threshold is straightforward: the home needs to perform at least 20% better than a typical new home built to code. Here’s the part most brokers and agents miss. In BC, every new home built since May 2023 has been required to meet that threshold under the BC Energy Step Code. So a large share of recent and current Okanagan new builds already qualify on paper. The question isn’t usually whether the home performs well enough. It’s whether the documentation is in place to prove it.

There are two paths to that documentation:

• Some homes already have an EnerGuide label issued by the builder. The buyer just submits it with their CMHC application.
• For homes without one, the buyer can request an EnerGuide evaluation from a Registered Energy Advisor. The evaluation typically runs around $600 and produces the label needed for the application.

Spending $600 to get thousands back in refund tends to be an easy decision once the math is in front of the client.

The home has to be newly built, never previously occupied, and the buyer has to have CMHC mortgage loan insurance on the purchase. Applications must be submitted within 24 months of mortgage closing.

02What is CMHC Eco Improvement?

Eco Improvement is the renovation-focused sibling. It gives the same 25% refund on CMHC mortgage loan insurance, but it applies to existing homes where the homeowner is making energy efficiency upgrades.

To qualify, the homeowner needs to:

• Have an existing CMHC-insured mortgage on the home
• Spend a minimum of $20,000 on qualifying energy improvements
• Complete a pre-retrofit EnerGuide evaluation before the work, and a post-retrofit evaluation after
• Demonstrate measurable improvement in the home’s energy performance

Like Eco Plus, applications need to go in within 24 months of mortgage closing.

03The two programs side by side

04What does this look like in actual dollars?

The refund is real money, not a small write-down. Here’s a worked example using a price point that lands in real Okanagan territory.

That’s a real cheque arriving in the mail. The math also works in your client’s favour the smaller their down payment is. A 5% down purchase carries a higher CMHC premium than 10% down, which means the 25% refund is bigger too.

05Why this matters for your business

Mortgage brokers and realtors who actively bring up these programs with clients aren’t just being helpful. They’re building a measurable competitive advantage.

06A hidden gem on the Eco Improvement side

Here’s something most agents don’t realize. Under Eco Improvement, energy efficiency upgrades that a previous owner completed can sometimes contribute to the refund eligibility, as long as the documentation is there. Translation: a well-documented older home that’s been retrofitted by the current seller could qualify the next buyer for a refund without the buyer doing any further work.

For realtors, that’s a hunting tactic. If you’re listing a home where the seller has invested in heat pumps, insulation upgrades, or window replacements, that history isn’t just a marketing point. It can become real money for the buyer.

07One thing worth flagging to your clients

08Where Thrive Energy fits in

Both programs require a Registered Energy Advisor to handle the technical side. That’s where we come in. For Eco Plus, we issue the official EnerGuide label or report your clients submit with their CMHC application. For Eco Improvement, we do the pre and post-retrofit evaluations that document the upgrade. And in both cases, we walk your clients (and you) through the application paperwork so it actually gets submitted.

We’ve helped a lot of homeowners and builders through this process throughout the Okanagan. If you’d like to set up a quick conversation about how to start mentioning these programs to clients, or if you want a one-page handout you can give to buyers, just reach out.

If you’d rather send your clients something to read on their own, our homeowner-focused Eco Plus explainer walks through the program from a buyer’s perspective and is a good thing to drop into a follow-up email.

09The takeaway

CMHC’s Eco Plus and Eco Improvement programs are leaving real money on the table for buyers who don’t know about them. The brokers and realtors who do know about them, and who actively bring them up with clients, are going to win more deals, build stronger referral pipelines, and look smarter than the competition while doing it.

If you want to learn more, or set up a referral arrangement so your clients have a clear next step when energy efficiency comes up, we’d love to hear from you.