For the past couple of years, purchasing a home has felt like a bet very few have wanted to make. From shifting market dynamics to panic-inducing headlines, there's a slew of reasons the sidelines have been the preferred seating for would-be buyers.
Then, The Rail District by Infinity Properties in Abbotsford opened the doors to its first condo building. At The Mason, which completed this spring, 10 condos sold in a single 30-day stretch. And in the months since May, they've just kept on selling.
In a market where the broader conversation around real estate has skewed negative, a building that's actually moving (and moving fast) is worth a second look — and some questions. The first being, perhaps: Why?
"Buyers are savvy," says Ryan MacDonald, Director of Sales and Marketing at Infinity Properties. "They understand the best value may not necessarily be the lowest price."
The Mason Suite Interior (Infinity Properties)
The Mason Suite Interior (Infinity Properties)
At The Mason, this value shows up first in the floor plans: one-bedroom homes start at 643 sq. ft, larger than the market average, giving buyers "room to entertain, relax, and make the space their own." The finishes carry the same logic, with brick façade exteriors, gas ranges, gas BBQ hookups on private balconies, and extra soundproofing between floors all coming standard.
And that value extends past each unit's front door, into the surrounding neighbourhood Infinity has crafted.
The Mason sits within The Rail District's first phase, anchored by The Station — the community's amenity building — where residents across all five planned neighbourhoods can work from a shared workspace, train in the gym, or host a private gathering in the kitchen and lounge.
Just outside, the Rail Plaza does the same job at street level: timber benches and tables, room for food trucks, garden beds, and bike racks for the after-ride crowd. From there, the new Rail Trail follows the old CP Railway straight into Historic Downtown Abbotsford, linking the building to a stretch of the Fraser Valley known for its restaurants, breweries, and small businesses.
That combination — a larger home, a suite of top-tier amenities, and a neighbourhood already within reach of downtown — is shaping who's showing up to buy. The Mason has drawn a wave of first-time buyers using the GST rebate to get into the market, along with right-sizers who want the area's lifestyle without the stress of a house to maintain.
Across The Rail District more broadly, Infinity is seeing younger couples and families looking to settle somewhere walkable, with room to grow alongside the development itself.
What's notable is that last part — the masterplan is still taking shape. MacDonald reads this early appetite as a vote of confidence, rather than simply being a response to an opportune price. "Buyers will invest in a community when they are confident in its value and long-term investment security," he says. "But of course, they're also drawn to The Rail District because it's a place they can picture themselves living. It's a friendly, family atmosphere, and will continue to get better and better as the community grows."
Rail District aerial (Infinity Properties)
Infinity knows this pattern because the company has seen it before. The Mason's early momentum echoes what Infinity created at Versant, its development in Burke Mountain, Coquitlam, and the success of both is credited to the same anchoring instinct.
"The common thread is the attention to detail and pride in our work," MacDonald says. "Infinity strives to build communities that we ourselves would want to live in." In fact, several Infinity employees, he added, do live in company-built communities.
Versant (Infinity Properties)
That instinct is also what determines where Infinity chooses to bring a development to life.
"Location remains the number one factor when it comes to making a buying decision and holding its value long-term," he says. Floor plan, product quality, and a builder's reputation all matter, he affirms, but it's the community itself that a buyer lives with day to day. Infinity, he says, "will only pursue locations where we can picture ourselves."
The Rail District, evidently, is one of those locations. And with homes selling at such a robust pace since its spring launch, The Mason has already given Infinity the strongest kind of proof: buyers can picture themselves there, too.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
This article was produced in partnership with the SiteMedia Content Studio.
