There still seems to be people who think home buyers in Vancouver are able to purchase homes and condos using high ratio financing (5-15% downpayment) I’m here to tell you that the vast majority of buyers in Vancouver as well as the surrounding cities are using conventional mortgages (20% downpayment). Conventional mortgages are mandatory on a purchase price of $1 mil and over as well as on investment units regardless of price. A conventional mortgage also eliminates the need for the expensive CMHC default insurance.