2025 data shows single-detached housing starts are down roughly six per cent compared to 2024, which itself was up about two per cent from 2023.

This points to growing pressure on the conventional suburban product: driven by rising costs, more cautious buyers and sharper scrutiny of value. And value today is no longer just about the house.

At the scale that shapes daily life, most new subdivisions still look the same:

• wide local streets;
• deep front yards that don’t get used; and
• frontages dominated by driveways and garage doors.

They meet engineering standards, but those standards tend to produce streets that work technically and fall flat experientially.

Buyers notice, even if they can’t describe it.

Across markets, people consistently gravitate to neighbourhoods with qualities found in older areas: low-traffic local streets and homes that connect directly to the street. These aren’t nostalgic preferences, they shape everyday safety, comfort and how people actually use their neighbourhood. 

Streets as an everyday amenity

Unlike pools or clubhouses, streets are used every single day. The width, scale and speed of the street directly affect whether parents feel comfortable, whether people linger and whether a place reads as “somewhere nice to live.”

When streets are narrower and designed at a human scale, they do more than move traffic. They slow vehicles, reduce noise, and make it easier for people to be outside and invest in it with landscape and furniture.

Kids can play closer to home, walking feels comfortable and casual social interactions happen naturally. Over time, these everyday experiences build a sense of safety, but not less importantly, they build unique character.

The buyer’s lens

Streets with clear character and calm traffic stand out in a market full of look-alike subdivisions. These qualities influence daily behaviour: walking, gathering, letting kids play.

Those factors translate directly into demand and absorption, and could be the competitive edge developers need in this market.

The developer’s lens

Well-designed streets aren’t just a lifestyle play. They also deliver hard returns:

• Yield: Narrower rights-of-way give land back to housing or usable open space.
• Cost: Compact, well-scaled networks reduce infrastructure and servicing costs.
• Market edge: In competitive markets, street character helps projects stand out and sell faster.

The cost of ignoring the street

In fast-growing regions, repeating standard street templates produces neighbourhoods that technically comply but struggle to differentiate. They blend into the background — and often underperform compared to places where the street feels intentional and livable.

Those streets don’t give buyers a clear reason to choose one project over another. As options increase, sameness is a risk.

Streets that feel oversized, fast, or disconnected from daily life weaken the overall perception of quality, even when the homes themselves are well-designed.