Locations
The pre-sale inventory for Mississauga’s Aura Lakeview Village development has nearly sold out despite a slow, challenging housing market. Developer-builder Caivan and listing brokerage Rare Real Estate say it is proof their unconventional strategy is working.
A stacked townhome project to be located along the waterfront, Aura will be one of the first communities established in Lakeview Village. The 177-acre master-planned community is transforming the former Lakeview Power Generating Station, revamping the area with the addition of thousands of new homes, retail and commercial space, public spaces and more.
Only a handful of the 152 units that make up Aura’s first phase remain, Jonathan Wiseman, executive vice-president of sales and marketing at Ottawa-based Caivan, said in an interview with RENX Homes. Over one weekend, more than 100 homes were sold.
It is a bright spot in an otherwise drab market. The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said there were 3,868 homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) in February, down 6.3 per cent year-over-year.
Ryan Rabinovich, founder of Toronto-based Rare, told RENX Homes he believes sales of Aura have been strong because of a counterintuitive plan of releasing “in a quieter market” to minimize competition, among other factors.
About Aura
Caivan and Rare are continuing a relationship that dates back to late 2021. The two have also collaborated on Saw Whet in Oakville and lowrise communities across the GTA including Summer Valley in Caledon.
Phase 1 of Aura is to consist of two-storey stacked townhomes ranging from 900 to 1,100 square feet per unit, with between one to three bedrooms and underground parking.
Prices for the first release at Aura started in the mid-$500,000s up to the mid-$700,000s, considerably less than comparable condos and resale townhomes in the area, Rabinovich said.
Unique to Caivan is its sister company, Advanced Building Innovation Company, which runs a facility in southwest Ottawa that produces factory-built homes. Caivan has yet to finalize the build methodology it will choose for Aura, Wiseman said.
Preparation of the underground portions of Aura are now under way with full construction to follow. Occupancy is anticipated to start in July 2027.
Why Aura has been a strong seller
Sales of Aura “exceeded really every benchmark that we had set internally,” Rabinovich said. He and Wiseman proposed a list of reasons why they believe Aura has been such a sales success.
“This product really is and was about bringing something innovative to the market that addresses first-time homebuyers,” Wiseman said about the stacked townhomes.
To further sweeten the deal for first-time homebuyers, Caivan guaranteed qualified buyers that if the federal government’s tax rebates for first-time homebuyers weren't passed by the time they closed on Aura, Caivan would honour the tax-free price. (The bill subsequently received Royal assent on March 12.)
Caivan’s incentive lowered the entry threshold for young families and singles, Wiseman said.
Another suggested reason is the sales strategy that goes against expectations.
“The conventional wisdom right now is to wait, to hold product until conditions improve, until interest rates come down further, until buyer sentiment shifts,” Rabinovich said. But Rare and Caivan took an opposing view, that the “right product offered at the right price in the right community will find its buyers regardless of the broader market condition.”
The decision was validated by the strong pre-sales of Aura, he continued.
“Buyers in this market are not absent. They’re simply more discerning, they’re looking for genuine value,” Rabinovich said.
Wiseman also noted the expected benefits of living in Lakeview Village: access to over 45 acres of green space; an expected 1.9-million square feet of office space; plans for more than 200,000 square feet of retail space; thousands of jobs; and a focus on low-carbon living.
Caivan's other projects
Caivan will be joined by other builders in Lakeview Village such as Branthaven, Greenpark, Deco, Opus and Tridel.
“We’re quite frankly honoured to be involved not only as one of the partners, but as one of the first builders bringing a community to market,” Wiseman said.
Caivan has plans for future projects in Lakeview Village and more phases at Aura, he added.
Outside of the upcoming Mississauga mixed-use community, Caivan also has plans for more projects in the GTA and in Ottawa. Its upcoming communities include:
Industry Events
Locations
