01 · Land
Estimating the land share of value in Hills of St. Andrew
Coming soon
04 · Estate Quality · Aurora Real Estate Agent · Communities
Hills of St. Andrew · Aurora's land-asset luxury community
Not bought to live in for a few years — bought to hold and to anchor wealth. The scarcest land-and-detached combination in Aurora: large lots, virtually 100% detached, uniformly low density. What you are really buying here is land and location — not the house. Aurora's traditional high-end, anchored around the namesake St. Andrew's College.
Era
1980s – 1990s
Tier
Upper
TBC
Primary buyer
Established families
Investor lens
Land banking
01 · Definition
What kind of community
is this?
Hills of St. Andrew is Aurora's traditional high-end residential district — the namesake community surrounding St. Andrew's College, with quiet streets, wide-and-deep lots, and a mature canopy. The product is virtually 100% detached (two-storey luxury homes, large bungalows, and custom builds all coexist), originally developed in the 1980s–1990s, now distributed across three states: fully renovated, fully torn down and rebuilt, and untouched originals.
The real value here is land and location — not the house. High-end supply in Aurora is extremely scarce; owners typically hold long-term and are not motivated sellers. Transactions are infrequent but large, and prices are unusually "sticky" through the cycle. This community does not sell convenience or liquidity — it sells space, privacy, and long-term value certainty. It is the only mature Aurora area where a land-banking thesis genuinely holds.
Sources: TRREB Aurora Community Housing Market Report Q4 2024; Aurora Consolidated Official Plan; local MLS transactions.
02 · Reading the community
Four lenses on Hills of St. Andrew
Land value, pricing logic, lifestyle quality, long-hold risk — the high-end playbook here is unlike any other Aurora community.
Housing Stock
What you actually buy
Virtually 100% detached — two-storey luxury homes, large bungalows, and custom builds coexist. Wide frontage, deep lots, a mature tree canopy, and strong privacy are the real value drivers. Originally developed in the 1980s–1990s, the stock now splits into three states: fully renovated, completely rebuilt, and untouched originals. "Older home ≠ depreciated asset" — tear-down-and-rebuild is a routine path here. You are buying land, not the house.
Pricing Logic
Price and liquidity
TRREB Q4 2024: median $2.20M, 7 sales (the lowest in Aurora), SP-LP 96%, DOM 41 days (the longest in Aurora). Practical band: standard detached $1.6M–$2.5M, high-end renovated or newly built $2.5M–$4M+. "Few transactions, large tickets" — long close cycles, rational buyers, almost no bidding wars. Prices are unusually "sticky" — extremely scarce supply plus motivated-hold owners deliver the strongest cycle resilience in Aurora.
Livability
Lifestyle, commute, schools
This community sells lifestyle quality — quiet, privacy, mature greenery, and a sense of space — not walkability or convenience. Retail requires a drive to Yonge or Bayview. Commute is the weakness: not near GO, not near a transit hub, fully car-dependent. Toronto is far (45+ minutes); Markham and Richmond Hill are workable. Schools are steady but not a primary driver — "baseline coverage," not a premium source.
Risk
What can go wrong
Liquidity risk — "salable" does not mean "sells fast." You need the right buyer and time; DOM averages 41 days, and even desirable properties can take 2–3 months. High carrying cost — large homes, large lots, mature trees stack up on property tax, lawn, roofing, and HVAC over the hold. Macro sensitivity is real — rates, high-end buyer confidence, and CAD exchange (for overseas buyers) all compound, making swings larger than mainstream Aurora.
03 · Three Lenses
Buyer, seller, investor — three ways to use Hills of St. Andrew
The high-end playbook — all three positions follow a "low-volume + long-cycle + land-driven" frame.
Buyer
If you are buying
Best fit: high-net-worth owner-occupiers, Richmond Hill or Markham move-up buyers, families that prioritize privacy, space, and community standing. Three things to nail before writing an offer — (1) the lot (frontage, depth, mature trees, orientation) matters far more than the house; (2) street quietness (core St. Andrew streets versus fringe streets diverge widely); (3) rebuild potential (zoning, setbacks, neighbouring-street consistency).
Avoid: over-renovated homes priced at a premium (you rarely recoup the spend), and oddly laid out older luxury homes (rebuild cost outruns other options). The best buying frame in Hills: find a great lot, well-maintained but dated cosmetically — leaving room for a rebuild or a full renovation.
Seller
If you are selling
Pricing strategy decides everything — never list aggressively, target precision, and budget patience. TRREB Q4 2024 shows DOM averaging 41 days; high-end homes can sit 3–4 months. High-end buyers do not rush, will not pay a narrative premium, and rarely enter bidding wars. The market does not punish mispricing with rapid price drops — it punishes with silence. 60 days without an offer is not a staging problem; it is a pricing problem.
Selling in Hills is "waiting for the right buyer" — a 4–8 month market cycle is normal. Staging matters, but the lot story matters more — making the land case (lot dimensions, rebuild potential, street prestige) the first thing in the listing is priority number one.
Investor
If you are investing
Hills is the only mature Aurora area where a true land-banking thesis holds — a 10+ year horizon on a large lot, underwriting to spillover from the urban core and persistent high-end scarcity. Custom build (buy the lot, tear down, rebuild) is also a standard play here — typical math: buy a $2M older home, spend $1.5–2M on the rebuild, sell at $4–5M as a finished high-end product (requires professional GC discipline on cost and timeline).
Does not fit: short-term flips (illiquid plus long DOM) or rental-yield plays (very low yield, high carrying cost on a large lot, and a thin high-end tenant pool). Hills is a wealth-anchoring asset, not a cash-flow asset.
04 · Deeper reading
Six deeper angles on Hills of St. Andrew
High-end buyer-only angles — each article maps to a real Hills decision-making inflection. Publishing one by one.
02 · Custom Build
Aurora's tear-down-and-rebuild — process and the math
Coming soon
03 · Compare
Hills of St. Andrew vs. Aurora Estates — what really separates the two high-ends
Coming soon
04 · Buyer Profile
Who actually buys in Hills — a high-net-worth buyer-profile breakdown
Coming soon
05 · Pricing
Why aggressive list pricing is the biggest seller mistake in Hills
Coming soon
06 · Long Hold
Pricing Aurora's high-end against Markham, Oakville, and Forest Hill
Coming soon
05 · Compare nearby
What else should be on your list?
High-end buyers shortlisting Hills of St. Andrew almost always weigh these three.
01 · Mature
Aurora Heights
Want the same mature-street feel and renovation runway but in the $1M tier — Heights is the entry-level version of the Hills playbook.
View Aurora Heights →
02 · Family Anchor
Aurora Highlands
Same mature-family character, but Highlands is the upper-middle layer — school-driven, more liquid, one tier below on price.
View Highlands →
07 · Old Core
Aurora Village
A different kind of "old" — Village is urban-core walkable lifestyle; Hills is suburban land-asset luxury. Two opposing high-end logics.
View Aurora Village →
06 · FAQ
Hills of St. Andrew FAQ
What is the price range in Hills of St. Andrew? ▾
TRREB Q4 2024: median $2.20M, 7 sales (the lowest in Aurora), SP-LP 96%, DOM around 41 days (the longest in Aurora). Practical band: standard detached $1.6M–$2.5M; high-end renovated or newly built $2.5M–$4M+. Extremely scarce supply plus motivated-hold owners make prices "sticky" — cycle resilience here is the strongest in Aurora. Reach out for current comps.
Hills of St. Andrew or Aurora Estates? ▾
Both are high-end but positioned differently. Hills: 1980s–1990s luxury stock plus large lots plus rebuild potential, higher price tier (median $2.20M), with strong locational scarcity in the core St. Andrew streets. Aurora Estates: detached-dominant with a small high-end condo-townhouse layer, sitting between Hills and the mainstream tier (median $1.72M). Lot size, rebuild potential, and land banking favor Hills. Relatively finished quality at a lower per-tier price favors Estates.
How do schools perform in Hills? ▾
Surrounding schools are steady but not a top-tier label — this community is not "school-driven" the way Aurora Highlands is. Family buyers in Hills treat schools as baseline coverage rather than a premium driver — aesthetic, the buyer pool, and the lot already define the community's value, with schools playing a supporting role. Always verify catchment by address on the YRDSB School Locator. Buyers needing a top-public-school premium should look at Highlands or the dedicated private-school path (St. Andrew's College, Country Day).
How is the commute from Hills of St. Andrew? ▾
Commute is the largest weakness here. Not near GO, not near a transit hub, fully car-dependent. Toronto is distant (45+ minutes); Markham and Richmond Hill are workable (25–35 minutes). This is a "trade commute for lifestyle" community — any high-frequency Toronto commuter should rule Hills out. The typical high-net-worth resident here works from home, has a flexible schedule, is retired, or visits the city occasionally rather than commuting daily.
