Why are young Canadians leaving cities? Why are seniors staying in homes that are too big for them? And can Canada lower housing costs without cutting quality of life even further?

In this listener Q&A episode of The Missing Middle, Sabrina Maddeaux and Cara Stern answer audience questions on housing affordability, immigration, downsizing, social isolation, wage stagnation, the Greenbelt, and why building more “missing middle” housing has become so difficult in Canada.

Topics covered:

• Why seniors aren’t downsizing
• The shortage of family-sized homes
• Housing prices vs stagnant wages
• Social isolation and unaffordable cities
• Immigration and housing demand
• The Greenbelt debate
• What young Canadians can do politically

If you enjoy the episode, subscribe and leave a comment with your own question for a future mailbag episode.

Eamon 

Seniors are lonely, rich, and live in houses that are too big, often in desirable neighbourhoods. Young people are desperate for housing, poor, and looking for roommates. Why not create a tax incentive for seniors to free up rooms in their houses for young people? I think a vacancy tax is punitive, but a tax incentive could unlock housing in a win-win (rather than zero sum) way for willing participants. Thoughts? 

Kate

In your second-time homebuyer article you mention that various government initiatives could lower newly built housing costs by up to 15% which would free up more family sized homes "making it easier for seniors to downsize". How would lowering the cost of newly built homes by 15% make it easier for seniors to downsize? In my view, the more significant factor facing senior downsizers is not the cost of new housing but the scarcity of appealing post-move options for them. 

Mary (edited for length) 

I am a boomer with two millennial children who haven't yet reached middle-class milestones like stable employment or homeownership. I believe factors other than parental status are at play: 1) Are houses more expensive, or are incomes simply failing to keep up with declining purchasing power? 2) Given the rise in single-person households, why is there so much social isolation, and how does the difficulty of making connections in urban environments impact the ability for young people to save and enter the housing market?

Chris Jeanneret and came from the comments section of our Greenbelt episode: 

Is the Greenbelt even practical for "affordable" housing, or does it only provide more land for luxury country estates? 

@canucklhead 

Isn't the obvious solution here to keep immigration low for the next few years to keep pressuring rents lower? Wouldn't this be the easiest solution to help affordability for everyone? 


Emily writes: 

I see what is happening to those under 25 and it is awful. How can I get involved? What steps can I take that will make the most difference? Do you know of a group in Edmonton organizing that is making a real difference especially in the "missing middle". 

Chapters: 

00:00Mailbag Special: Your Housing Questions Answered

00:23Should Seniors Rent Out Empty Bedrooms?

02:57Will Cheaper New Homes Help Seniors Downsize?

05:07Why Millennials Are Falling Behind

06:00Social Isolation, Third Places & Housing Costs

08:05How Housing Affordability Breaks Friendships and Communities

10:54Can the Greenbelt Deliver Affordable Housing?

12:43Is Lower Immigration the Fastest Path to Affordability?

14:16What Canadians Can Do to Push for Change

Research/links:

The Disappearing "Third Place": Why Making Friends Is Getting Harder

https://youtu.be/WYFTsrvwr0o?si=IIGS4jllTN2dKT5h

Grow Together Edmonton

https://www.growtogetheryeg.com/

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

Funded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/