‘We’re way behind’: Halifax seeks answers to ‘missing middle’ housing

Halifax is looking for feedback on types of housing between apartment buildings and detached homes.

Halifax is looking for public opinions and answers about ‘missing middle’ housing.

Those buildings aren’t detached single-unit homes or mid- and high-rise apartments, but rather what’s in between those, including row homes, townhouses, multiplexes or low-rise apartments.

Those builds are often missed as new units come online, that’s why it’s called missing middle housing.

“It’s a supply and demand dynamic,” says Chris Marchand, the president of Canadian Home Builders’ Association - Nova Scotia. “Demand is high and supply is low.”

Halifax had nearly 7,300 housing starts in 2025. That’s up from 2024, which sounds like good news, but there’s more to the story.

“All but a very small number of those were apartments, and high-rise, multi-rise,” says Mayor Andy Fillmore. “We really are not permitting enough of the two, three, four-storey, eight to 12 unit more affordable construction technique that drops rents.”

Aside from those, Fillmore says, there’s “certainly” not enough single-family or town homes being built, known as ground-based units.

“We’re way behind on ground-based units,” he says. “This has caused a shortage in the market which is escalating the price in those ground-based units that are available.

“The way we’re going to bring the cost down for ground-based units is to build more of them, approve more land for development through the suburban plan.”

Home builders argue backyard suite incentives, and reductions to HST or permitting all help. But finding land to build those middle-of-the-line homes is difficult on the peninsula.

Marchand says there is “not a lot of vacant land, if any vacant land.”

“It’s all redevelopment of existing stock, and a lot of what was upzoned through the Housing Accelerator Fund is all existing stock that would need to be redeveloped.”

The city’s survey closes at the end of the month.

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