CMHC economist: the condo model itself may not survive
“I think detached housing peaked in Vancouver, for example, in 1971, there’s like 70,000 detached homes in Vancouver. Today there’s like 35,000. So your ability to even just acquire what’s available is a lot lower,” he said.
Little said the high-density stock now being built still fails families.
“We’re not building a lot of 3, 4-bedroom affordable condo units. Like, if you want a 4-bedroom condo in downtown Toronto, it’s crazy expensive. You know, that’s a 2,000-square-foot-plus unit. There’s not that many of them. So we’re still not building even that type of housing stock in this high-density environment, and that’s probably a change that needs to come,” he said.
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Brokers have flagged the same mismatch. Dan Eisner, founder and chief executive officer of True North Mortgage, told Canadian Mortgage Professional after Toronto’s condo market made a wretched start to 2026: “If you can find a quality condo which is 750 square feet-plus, then you’re probably good.”
Lee framed the stakes with a survey he said was raised at a recent mayoral debate. It found that one-third of Greater Toronto Area (GTA) residents want to leave the region, with affordability a main reason.
