Two sides, two floor plans, built for family and income

Oak + River is a boutique collection of two single-attached homes in Annieville, one of North Delta's established family neighbourhoods. Each side is a three-level home with a five-bedroom main residence and two legal mortgage helpers. One address can hold a big family, extended family and rental income at the same time.

We made the two sides different on purpose. 9357 Forest Way pairs a two-bedroom legal suite with a garden suite. 9359 119A Street pairs a two-bedroom legal suite with a two-bedroom coach home. Buyers could choose the setup that fit their family.

Inside, both homes have European oak floors, quartz counters, a wok kitchen beside the main kitchen, a theatre room, central air conditioning and radiant in-floor heating. Outside, the Scandinavian-inspired design pairs brick with black board-and-batten.

The location does a lot of work too. The homes are steps from the R6 RapidBus on Scott Road, in the catchment for Gibson Elementary and Delview Secondary, and about 10 minutes from the Alex Fraser Bridge and Highway 91.

Today's buyer is not the buyer of three years ago

We are boots on the ground at every listing, and the shift is clear. Today's buyers are practical. They are planning around how families live now: parents, grandparents and grown kids under one roof, more than one income, and incomes that change from year to year. Many of them are first-time buyers. They want rental income that is legal, reliable and built into the home from day one.

The ideal buyer for a project like Oak + River looks very different than it did a few years ago. Many developers are still building for the old buyer, and their product is sitting on the market. The homes look good. They just aren't designed for the way people buy now.

Knowing the buyer is everything. Most realtors and developers forget to design, build and market for the buyer of tomorrow.

We started with the buyer and worked backward

Most new homes are designed first and marketed second. We flipped the order. While the homes were being built, we worked with the builder to REVERSE ENGINEER the floor plans and design around what buyers were asking for.

That direction came from our market analytics and from hundreds of conversations with buyers. You can see it in the finished homes:

• Two legal mortgage helpers on each side, each with its own entry, to help carry the mortgage.
• Five-bedroom main homes sized for multi-generational living.
• A wok kitchen beside the main kitchen, plus a theatre room and central air conditioning.
• Two different suite setups, a garden suite or a two-bedroom coach home, so families could pick the side that fit.
• Room to park, with a double garage and space for at least four vehicles on each side.

A brand-new family home that helps pay for itself

For many of our buyers, this was the deciding page. Every booklet included a simple mortgage-helper breakdown so families could see the real monthly cost.

Using the booklet pricing, 20% down and a 3.7% average rate over 30 years, the estimated mortgage was $5,978 a month at 9357 Forest Way and $6,087 a month at 9359 119A Street. The legal suite plus the garden suite or coach home were estimated to bring in $3,400 and $3,800 a month. That left an estimated out-of-pocket cost of about $2,578 and $2,287 a month for a five-bedroom main home.

Buyers walked the home while it was still being built

Aura 3D Studios is our in-house 3D visualization studio. It creates 3D visuals for homes marketed around the world. For Oak + River, the studio produced 3D renderings and immersive animations of both homes. Buyers could walk around the property and move through every floor while construction was still underway.

That did two jobs. It gave buyers the confidence to commit to a home they could not yet stand in. It also gave us a way to test the design. When buyers reacted to a layout, we took that feedback to the builder and shaped the plans around it.

We started marketing while the walls were still open

We did not wait for a finished home. While Oak + River was still in house wrap, we filmed on site in front of our Oak + River signage and cut the construction footage against the Aura 3D Studios renders. Buyers watched each framed room turn into the finished space.

It gave early buyers confidence in what they were buying, and it started the conversation well before the listing went live.

A marketing plan built on data

Every Aura listing runs on The System: a custom marketing plan, analytics and buyer targeting, local market knowledge, and events at the listing. For Oak + River, that meant:

• Market analytics to define the ideal buyer before launch.
• Targeted social media and online media aimed at qualified buyers, not just more eyeballs.
• Buyer channels and our realtor network to put the homes in front of people ready to act.
• Informational videos that explained a product most buyers had never seen. Two legal suites on each side was new to many first-time buyers, so we walked them through how the suites, the rental income and the layout work.

The content passed 500,000 views across platforms. If you were shopping for a home in the Fraser Valley this spring, you saw Oak + River.

Open houses that doubled as market research

Before the public launch, we hosted a luxury-themed industry open house for realtors, builders, mortgage brokers and other professionals. It was the launch before the launch. The people who advise buyers every day felt the energy of the project first, and they left knowing exactly what Oak + River offered.

Then the public open houses were packed, with hundreds of people through the door every week. We treated every visit as research. With two different floor plans side by side, we could see which layouts and suite setups drew which buyers, and which questions came up again and again.

What we learned in those rooms now shapes every project we take on with our builders.

Every buyer left with the full picture

We made two printed booklets. The presale edition showed the homes during construction: Aura 3D Studios renderings, floor plans, the site plan, a neighbourhood guide and an investment breakdown. The move-in edition showed the finished homes with professional photography, specs at a glance and the rental income numbers.

Every potential buyer went home with a snapshot of life in each home: the rental potential, the luxury finishes, the lifestyle, the area and its schools, and the quick access to major roads. It answered their questions before they had to ask. It also kept Oak + River on the kitchen table long after the open house ended.

Two homes. About two weeks. A new benchmark for North Delta.

1. April 13, 2026Both homes list on MLS®.
2. 8 days later9357 Forest Way has an accepted offer.
3. 15 days later9359 119A Street has an accepted offer.
4. Sold9357 Forest Way at $1,580,000 including GST. 9359 119A Street at $1,580,000 plus GST.

9359 119A Street sold for $1,580,000 plus GST. That is the highest half-duplex sale ever recorded in North Delta, and the highest duplex sale in the Fraser Valley in the past three years. 9357 Forest Way sold for $1,580,000 including GST.

We got it done the way we always do: with trust, honesty and dedication to our builder partner and to every buyer who walked through the door.

We even recreated how it happened. Our How It Sold video is a reenactment of the actual sale, starting where it started: a buyer scrolling on their phone.

What this means for your next project

More of this product is coming. In 2024, Delta updated its zoning under BC's small-scale multi-unit housing rules to allow at least four units on most lots zoned for single-detached and duplex homes (City of Delta). More supply gives buyers more choice. The projects that sell will be the ones designed for them.

That is why every future project we take on with our builders will be REVERSE ENGINEERED for the buyer in today's market. Here is how we work:

1. Study the buyerMarket analytics, plus what we hear at every open house.
2. Shape the plansWe work with the builder on layouts, suites and finishes before they are locked in.
3. Show it earlyAura 3D Studios renderings and animations let buyers walk the home before it is built.
4. Launch with The SystemTargeted marketing, buyer channels, events and booklets.
5. Keep listeningEvery showing feeds the next project.