Jen Keesmaat recently wrote a blog post:Mid-Rise Rising: 58 Approved Applications and Counting. http://ownyourcity.ca/2013/11/mid-rise-rising/

I'm just looking into the investment performance of these buildings. The theory brought up was that investors dont buy these buildings and its more of an end user thing.or they may me an untapped opportunity for people to buy into

on the flip side, it seems that smaller developers build them and may not have a long track record of success (ie stage east lofts)

anyone have any experience to share?

I\ve noticed that @Freed Developments' midrise buildings do have lots of tenants and have an investor following. what else have you been seeing

I agree with Roy. It's very difficult to compare investment returns between mid-rise and high-rise.

Mid-rise are typically on avenues that are not along the subway line and if they are, it's typically on the Bloor-Danforth vs University/Spadina/Yonge and as such don'texperience as much demand from investors.

Also, you tend to find a lot more end user interest in mid-rise projects. Given that mid-rise developers know this, they are less likely to use a similar strategy where they provide lower pricing to the initial purchasers and increase the pricing over time. I don't love this aspect about mid-rise. 

I do agree that location is the best way to judge a mid-rise is by the location. 

With respect to Developers. The key to determining whether its a builder that will care about the purchasers/brokers and customer care is to note if the developer has launched or is launching other projects other than his current development. A lot of mid-rise developers will launch and build one site because they've owned the land for decades and now can build it out and make a good buck. But the developers who are buying and selling other sites are actually in the business of development and will care about their long-term track record with the market.