This blog examines missing middle housing starts in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) between 2016 and 2022. Missing middle housing is approximated by CMHC starts data for townhouses and apartments in structures of six storeys or less.
Highlights include:
- York region recorded the most significant number of missing middle starts in the GTHA between 2016-2022.
- Missing middle starts are relatively more prominent in Hamilton, Durham, and Halton.
- The majority of missing middle starts are townhouses in all municipalities except Toronto.
- All GTHA municipalities recorded higher missing middle starts than changes in occupied dwellings, with Toronto recording a decline in its stock of occupied missing middle housing units.
The bottom line is that more must be done to protect the stock of existing missing middle housing in GTHA municipalities while at the same time increasing the starts of new missing middle housing of all types and in all locations.
