As the housing market in Windsor continues to heat up, buyers are looking for less expensive housing options with less upkeep.
That's according to Acting Chief Building Official Rob Vani; he spoke with Ricardo Veneza on The Afternoon News.
It seems builders in the city are looking to meet that demand.
The city's latest Construction Activity Report shows 155 new townhome builds in 2018 valued at over $41-million, outpacing single detached builds which saw 126 unit starts.
Vani says those numbers show a trend of townhomes becoming a "go to" housing option for the aging population in Windsor Essex.
"Move out of their homes that they may have built and purchased early on in their lives with their families," says Vani. "Now they're moving on to townhomes to kind of reduce costs and their upkeep."
He says the trend likely won't level off any time soon.
"I think we're just at the start of the demographic shift, so we'll probably continue to see that pace of townhome outpacing single family," adds Vani.
Vani says it's a provincial mandate to use a mix between high and low density housing to avoid urban sprawl that can strain transit and other municipal services.
"It's always preferable to meet those policy standards the province puts out to intensify property the way it should be so that you're not burdening the existing tax base with increased costs to service areas," says Vani.
Vani says the next large residential development out near Windsor International Airport is more geared to town home development.