Caivan created such a buzz this fall around the release of its first Summit Series townhomes that more than 3,000 people registered to get more information, fueled in large part by the incredible starting prices under $350,000.
Then once the homes were released on Nov. 9, all 172 units available sold out within a week.
“Lots of demand,” says Jonathan Wiseman, Caivan’s executive vice-president of sales and marketing. “We’re continuing to see strong registrations and the team is generating a wait list of purchasers who have not yet been able to secure a lot.”
The Summit Series is initially being offered at Caivan’s Orléans Village development in Orléans, but the company is looking at introducing the homes in its other developments as well.
They offer two bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, ground-floor entrances and 900 to 1,033 square feet in either an upper or lower unit. They also include features such as nine-foot, smooth ceilings on the main living level, granite counters and a dedicated surface parking spot. Unlike most stacked towns, which have another unit backing onto the rear, these homes are laid out using the full depth of the building, providing windows at both the front and back.
“That really does afford a lot of natural light,” says Wiseman.
Similar types of homes have typically cost at least $50,000 more, but Caivan has been able to offer them at such a low price — without sacrificing quality — because of its unique building process, which includes creating its own factory components and using artificial intelligence and proprietary software, among others, to streamline the efficiency of how they build.
“We’re really leveraging and taking advantage of all of the advanced manufacturing processes and techniques and some proprietary tools that we’ve built in-house,” says Wiseman.
MORE: Caivan and its Advanced Building Innovation Company (ABIC)
Adds Jan Coulis, Caivan’s marketing director, who joined the company after many years with another builder: “The interesting thing for me coming from a different builder is that, through the design process, Caivan is the only company I’ve ever seen who can contemplate different ways of building the units … Having the ability to decide ‘we can build this type of unit at this price and this is how we can do it.’ I’ve never seen a process like that, that a builder has any choices in. Usually, it’s the build that drives the price and, in this case, it was the price that drove the design.”
The Summit Series “was really designed from the ground up by our team here at both Caivan and ABIC” for buyers who haven’t had the opportunity to yet be in the market, says Wiseman.
One of those buyers is Rita Keogh, a 69-year-old grandmother who sold her home in Pembroke to relocate closer to her daughter and grandchildren in Orléans and to her church. Initially thinking she could use the proceeds from the sale to buy a home here, it came as a shock to discover how high the prices were.
“I probably should have checked this out before I moved to Ottawa,” she says wryly, noting that high rental rates made renting an unappealing option as well. More than a year after temporarily moving into her daughter’s home, she feels blessed by the opportunity that the Summit Series has offered her.
“It’s like a gift from the Lord,” she says, and she’ll be just a 10-minute walk from her daughter’s.
Opting for an upper end unit, besides being at a price she could afford, she was drawn by the incentives like the included appliances, minimal amenities that could raise maintenance costs (a pool, for instance), and by the fact that it’s a new build, “which is just awesome. I never thought I would get that.”
She’s not worried about the two flights of stairs to traverse. “I’m in good shape; I feel that they’ll continue to keep me in good shape.”
While Caivan is currently sold out of the Summit Series, there are more to come, which Keogh thinks is “amazing. There’s such a need for this price range for so many people.”
