The Disappearing Starter Home

Spend 30 minutes on a Sunday afternoon driving through new neighborhoods in your town. You'll see two main types of housing: multi-family or duplex units and large, two-story single-family homes around 2,400 square feet.

Next, spend another 30 minutes driving through the older part of town. You'll mostly see single-story homes between 1,500 and 2,000 square feet. These are often called starter homes or "strawberry" homes, built during the post-World War II housing boom.

Ask a millennial or Gen Z buyer what they want in a starter home, and you might be surprised—bungalows are at the top of the list. They offer real homeownership with a yard, basement, and driveway. Plus, they were once affordable and, in cities like Edmonton, still are. Even during a housing crisis, you can find a bungalow for around $400,000. That’s not as cheap as 10 years ago, but it’s a bargain compared to entry-level homes in Vancouver or Toronto. Despite their smaller size, these homes have long been a symbol of the Canadian dream—or at least, they used to be.

Starter homes are becoming a thing of the past. In Canada, single-family bungalows make up only a tiny fraction of new home construction. But why? There’s strong demand for them, yet very few are being built. The reasons likely include costs, regulations, fees, and politics. Developers focus on higher-profit projects like duplexes and multi-family units, while city rules favor dense housing over smaller single-family homes. Even when land becomes available, builders often choose larger homes for families with stable incomes.

But there’s hope! Smaller cities looking to attract young people could bring back the starter home. By reducing fees, simplifying permits, and offering pre-approved designs, cities could encourage more bungalow construction.