Canada’s Starter Home Is Dead

Canada’s housing ladder is broken. In this episode of Missing Middle, Sabrina Maddeaux and Mike Moffatt explain why the starter home no longer works and how an entire generation has been locked out of moving up.They compare buying a detached home in 2004 for $168,000 with today’s reality, where condos fail as a first step and buyers are trapped with no clear path forward. The conversation explores how this breakdown affects family formation, careers, ambition, and Canada’s economic future.=If homeownership feels impossible, this episode explains why and why it matters.Do you still believe the starter home works, or has the housing ladder completely collapsed where you live?Chapters:00:00 — What “Buying Your First Home” Used to Look Like00:40 — Mike’s First House: A Brand-New Detached Home… as a “Starter”01:47 — Why That Dream Is Gone for Today’s Buyers02:29 — What “Starter Home” Means Now vs. Then05:23 — “Aging Out” of the Starter Home07:03 — Trapped in a Condo09:58 — The “Second-Time Buyer Problem” Explained11:09 — Housing, Birth Rates, and Canada’s Demographic Crisis13:37 — Careers Limited by Real Estate, Not Talent18:45 — Why Politicians Are Getting This WrongResearch links:Teranet Market Insights Q1 2025National Bank Housing Affordability MonitorCMHC Housing Market Outlook 2025CMHC Housing Supply Report 2025Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market ForecastStatistics Canada - Homeownership and Mortgage Debt of Tax FilersCIBC Economics - Housing Affordability ReportsHosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina MaddeauxProduced by Meredith MartinFunded by the Neptis Foundation https://neptis.org/