A policy shift is building momentum that could fundamentally change what a detached residential lot in Markham is worth, and what you are legally permitted to build on it. TRREB submitted recommendations to the City of Markham urging the city to reduce development charges on missing middle housing such as duplexes, triplexes, and multiplexes, and to incentivize gentle density in existing neighbourhoods.

TRREB’s key priorities for Markham specifically include granting multiplexes as-of-right — supporting permissions for duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, and additional residential units without lengthy rezoning processes — to unlock underutilized lots and expand missing middle options that residents across the GTA want and need.

Michael John Lau, top real estate agent in Markham Ontario, has been watching this policy development closely — because if TRREB’s recommendations are adopted by the City of Markham, the implications for existing homeowners are significant, direct, and potentially very valuable.

What Is Missing Middle Housing?

Missing middle housing is the broad category of residential development that sits between the single-family detached home and the high-rise apartment tower — duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, sixplexes, stacked townhomes, courtyard apartments, and mid-rise multiplexes. It is called “missing” because decades of single-family zoning across Canadian suburbs have effectively prohibited it from most residential lots, creating a gap in the housing spectrum between freehold ownership and tower living.

The argument for expanding missing middle housing in Markham is straightforward: a city where only single-family detached homes are permitted on residential lots has a structural supply constraint that drives prices up and keeps families out. Allowing the same lot to accommodate a duplex or triplex — while maintaining the scale and character of the neighbourhood — increases housing supply, generates rental income for homeowners, and creates more housing choices at multiple price points without the disruption of high-rise development.

What This Means for Existing Markham Homeowners — The Three Scenarios

Scenario 1: Your Lot Becomes More Valuable

If the City of Markham follows TRREB’s recommendations and permits duplexes, triplexes, and multiplexes as-of-right on residential lots in established communities, a detached home lot that currently supports one dwelling unit could legally support two, three, or four. The land value increases proportionally with the permitted density — because the number of rentable or sellable units you can build on that land increases.

A Markham Village homeowner sitting on a 60-foot-wide lot who can currently build a replacement detached home would, under missing middle permissions, be able to build a triplex or fourplex on the same land. In communities like Markham Village, Bullock, and Raymerville where lots are larger and existing homes are older, this scenario is particularly relevant.

Scenario 2: You Build a Duplex or Triplex and Generate Rental Income

Ontario already permits two Additional Residential Units on most residential properties — the legal basement apartment and a garden suite or coach house. Missing middle permissions would further expand this to allow purpose-built duplexes and triplexes as primary structures rather than secondary suites.

At Markham rents of $2,100 to $2,800 per month for a two-bedroom unit, a duplex generates $50,000 to $67,000 in annual gross rental income from a property that previously generated zero. For a Markham homeowner with a large lot in Markham Village, Greensborough, or Box Grove, this is a fundamentally different financial picture of their property’s productive capacity.

Scenario 3: Your Neighbourhood Changes — and Property Values Follow

The evidence from cities that have implemented missing middle permissions — including Vancouver, Minneapolis, and Auckland — is more reassuring than the concern suggests. Missing middle development typically produces buildings that are compatible in scale with surrounding detached homes. The Vancouver data specifically shows that missing middle permissions, when implemented with appropriate design standards, have a neutral to positive effect on surrounding property values — not a negative one.

What Homeowners Should Do Right Now

The missing middle housing policy shift is not yet implemented in Markham — it is a policy recommendation being advanced by TRREB and supported by provincial housing reform momentum. But the direction of travel is clear: Ontario’s Housing Accelerator Fund, the provincial Planning Act, and TRREB’s sustained advocacy are all pushing in the same direction. The question is not whether missing middle density will expand in Markham — it is when.

For homeowners with larger lots in established communities — Markham Village, Bullock, Greensborough, Raymerville, and portions of Milliken Mills — now is the right time to understand what your lot’s potential looks like under missing middle permissions, to get a baseline assessment of your property’s redevelopment potential, and to position yourself to act quickly when the regulatory window opens.

TRREB’s April 2026 housing policy report, “Removing Roadblocks: Tackling Municipal Barriers to Housing Supply and Affordability in Ontario,” additionally calls for modernizing the Building Code to allow more missing middle housing such as mid-rise apartments and multiplexes. This is a policy environment with clear momentum — and Markham homeowners who understand it early are the ones best positioned to benefit from it.