Right now, Toronto’s condo market is flooded with over 7,300 active listings. But despite what you might hear, the real crisis isn’t just about high prices or interest rates.
The deeper issue?
We’ve been building the wrong kind of housing.
đź“Š Breaking Down the Numbers
Here’s what the data says about Toronto’s condo inventory:
- 3,028 listings are under 700 sq. ft.
- 2,292 listings are mid-sized (700–999 sq. ft.)
- 1,930 listings are over 1,000 sq. ft.
At the same time, when you look at March 2025 sales:
- 1-bed sales dropped sharply from 239 to 170
- 2-bed sales dropped from 675 to 513
- 3-bed sales only dipped slightly—from 251 to 222
🔎 Translation: Buyers still want space. It’s not just about affordability—it’s about livability.
🏢 What’s Wrong With Toronto’s Condo Design?
For over a decade, Toronto developers optimized for investors:
- 400–600 sq. ft. one-bedrooms
- Minimal storage
- Identical floor plans stacked in glass towers
When the investor pipeline slowed, these buildings didn’t appeal to actual residents—families, downsizers, professionals—who need functional, livable spaces.
🧱 The Missing Piece: Mid-Rise Condos
Toronto’s 2010 Avenues Framework envisioned mid-rise development:
- 5 to 8-storey buildings
- Street-level retail
- Integrated, human-scale communities
Instead, mid-rise condos became rare, tangled in slow approvals, costly angular plane rules, and NIMBY resistance.
Yet when you look at the few that were built? They’re thriving.
🔥 3 Mid-Rise Success Stories
Briar Hill Loft (137 units)
- 43.5% sold over asking
- 15 DOM
- 103% average SP/LP
Corktown District II (192 units)
- 34.6% sold over asking
- 18 DOM
- 102% average SP/LP
Madison Avenue Lofts (211 units)
- 22.6% sold over asking
- 28 DOM
- 101% average SP/LP
These aren’t micro-condos.
They’re livable homes—with real square footage, character, and community feel.
🌍 Lessons From Other Cities
Brooklyn, Berlin, and Paris show that mid-rise can thrive:
- 3–6 storey walk-ups
- No underground parking
- No excessive angular planes
- Long-lasting, human-scale design
Toronto could follow their lead by easing setback rules, allowing more timber/steel frame construction, and simplifying midrise approvals.
🛠️ Building Better, Smarter, and More Affordably
Solutions for Toronto’s condo crisis:
- Promote mass timber and modular construction
- Rethink zoning to allow more as-of-right mid-rise
- Expand lot coverage and ease angular plane restrictions
- Offer tax incentives for building family-friendly, end-user housing
Because real solutions don’t come from simply building taller.
They come from building smarter.
🏡 Find Your Space in the Toronto Condo Market 2025
If you’re buying, selling, or just exploring your options, it’s time to think differently about Toronto’s condo market.
🏠Try my brokerage’s AI-powered Home Valuation Tool to get a true sense of your property value—or to start your search for real space in real communities:
đź”— https://valery.ca/?ref=joshuaj
