Second-Time Buyers Are Screwed (And Ignored)

The Missing Middle Podcast · Mar 25, 2026 · 22m

You built equity, planned ahead, and did everything right, so why is the next step on the housing ladder completely out of reach?Canada’s housing crisis is usually framed around first-time buyers struggling to get into the market. But a growing number of Canadians already made that leap and are now stuck. Couples who bought small condos with the expectation of eventually upgrading are discovering that the path forward has quietly disappeared.In this episode, Mike Moffatt and Sabrina Maddeaux unpack the rise of the “trapped” second-time homebuyer; households in their late 20s to early 40s who…