Infill Development
Learn about infill development in Canadian real estate — what it is, its benefits, and how it supports sustainable urban growth.
July 29, 2025
What is Infill Development?
Infill development is the process of building new housing, commercial buildings, or amenities on vacant or underutilized land within existing urban areas.
Why Infill Development Matters in Real Estate
In Canadian urban planning, infill development supports smart growth by making efficient use of existing infrastructure and reducing urban sprawl.
Key benefits:
- Revitalizes older neighbourhoods
- Supports transit-oriented communities
- Reduces pressure on agricultural or natural lands
Understanding infill development helps municipalities, developers, and residents balance growth and community character.
Example of Infill Development in Action
The city encouraged infill development by offering incentives for building new townhouses on a former industrial site.
Key Takeaways
- Builds on vacant or underused urban land
- Promotes efficient infrastructure use
- Helps revitalize established areas
- Reduces urban sprawl
- Requires careful community consultation
Related Terms
- Urban Planning
- Zoning
- Density Bonus
- Mixed-Use Development
- Official Plan
6525 Mississauga Road and its surrounding context. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
Property details for 6525 Mississauga Road. (RBC Capital Markets & CBRE)
National average resale-price growth and housing-starts growth, smoothed over three months. The comparison illustrates the cycle; it does not establish how much a price change causes construction to change.
Trailing 12-month starts in centres of 50,000 or more remove the usual monthly seasonality. Ownership combines the homeowner and condominium categories; rental is shown separately.
Six-month averages of provincial starts, expressed at annual rates. The smoothing reduces the influence of individual apartment projects.
The same August benchmark compared with two different starting points. Three-month changes are not annualized.
Average sale prices show the difference in purchase costs across markets. They do not measure affordability relative to local incomes or construction costs.
Newfoundland and Labrador remains above its pre-pandemic sales pattern, but August activity was below last year. Historical lines retain their original release vintages.
Average and median describe different aspects of the same month’s transactions. Both are affected by the mix of homes sold.
Category averages compare different homes and locations; the gaps are not estimates of the cost to upgrade an otherwise identical property.
The five categories shown account for 5,000 of the board’s 5,057 sales. The remaining 57 transactions were in other housing categories.
Monthly observations are not seasonally adjusted. Active listings count properties available at month-end; they are not construction inventory.
Average and median prices share one dollar axis. These unadjusted transaction measures do not control for changes in the homes sold.
TRREB’s 416/905 categories compare the apartments sold in each area. The difference does not isolate a location premium for equivalent units.
5680 Oak Street in Vancouver and its surrounding context. (MCMP Architects)
Ground-level renderings of the tower proposed for 5680 Oak Street in Vancouver. (MCMP Architects)