At Toronto’s Heaps Estrin, fine details fuel the team’s marketing machine

Cailey Heaps and Jane McIver in September at the team’s 25th anniversary party. The theme was “Studio 25”, a nod to Studio 54 (contributed).

Heaps Estrin’s sales figures are large by any conventional measure, but inside the central Toronto real estate team, much of the focus tends to be fixed on small touches tailored to each listing. 

That might mean running a direct mail campaign for a listing aimed at older buyers instead of relying primarily on digital advertising, refining the copy in a client success story, or selecting panelists for a community event.

The approach produces. Through the first four months of 2026, Heaps Estrin recorded more than $334 million in sales volume across 208 transactions. In 2025, the Royal LePage team reported $773 million in sales across 532 transactions.

Cailey Heaps, the team’s owner and team leader, has built Heaps Estrin into a prominent real estate brand in Toronto and a dominant player in Canada. The team includes more than 30 agents, with a broader staff of roughly 50 to 60 people.

The in-house marketing division includes five full-time staff members. With outside partners and vendors, the group expands to approximately nine or 10 people.

According to Jane McIver, the team’s director of marketing and brand innovation, the team does not operate on a traditional handoff model in which marketing creates materials and agents simply deploy them. Instead, agents and marketers work collaboratively throughout campaigns and listings.

“Our in-house marketing team works closely with our agents throughout the entire process, with continuous feedback and alignment,” McIver said. “Because our agents are on the front lines with clients, their insights play an important role in shaping our strategy and execution.”

The team includes agents with backgrounds in fields including design, finance and architectural history. Alex Corey, the team’s in-house architectural historian, contributes to both listings and community programming.

“There’s an expert across any number of disciplines to be found here,” McIver said. “That’s the difference, as opposed to people just taking care of their own portfolio of listings. It’s a team-led approach to buying and selling real estate.”

At the same time, agents are also encouraged to develop specialized areas of expertise and public profiles, supported by workshops, templates and shared resources, while working within a common brand.

The life of a listing

The backbone of each listing at Heaps Estrin is referred to as the “life of a listing,” a structured marketing process applied to properties from preparation through sale.

“From a marketing perspective, we try to give the same attention and level of care to every listing that we represent,” McIver said.

The process includes property preparation, pre-launch marketing, formal launch and sustained promotion through closing. For listings that remain on the market longer, the team revisits marketing opportunities and buyer outreach strategies.

Channel selection varies by listing and audience. McIver said print continues to play a role in certain campaigns.

“There may be a listing that would appeal to a much older demographic, in which case we would be better served, as would our clients, if we went with a direct mail campaign versus a splashy digital one,” she said. “So we look at everything and decide what’s best for it in the moment.”

Storytelling and brand identity

A personal approach informs much of the team’s client-facing communication and content strategy.

“We have a deep reverence for the power of storytelling here as a brand,” McIver said.

One example is the team’s biannual print magazine, which is distributed to more than 40,000 homes in central Toronto and distributed with Toronto Life. 

“We consider it a lifestyle magazine more than a real estate magazine, where we get to tell stories that are relevant for the people who call Toronto home,” McIver said. “Telling Toronto stories is a big part of our brand.”

That storytelling approach also extends to listing marketing and client case studies, where the emphasis is often placed on personal circumstances and transitions surrounding a move rather than transaction metrics alone.

Events and community engagement

The team’s Real Estate Explained seminar series addresses topics ranging from financing strategies for first-time buyers and recreational property investing to broader issues such as divorce, intergenerational wealth transfer and caregiving responsibilities within the “sandwich generation.” Panelists are drawn from a network of professionals in fields including law, finance and design.

“It demonstrates for our community that we have our own expertise insofar as the real estate part of the picture is concerned, but also that we have a prized list of collaborators and partners that we like to share,” McIver said.

The team also organizes neighbourhood walking tours led by Corey that focus on the architectural and social history of Toronto communities. The tours serve both existing clients and residents who may not currently be active in the housing market.

“We find new community members to engage with, but we also get to connect with people who maybe aren’t close to making a real estate transaction, but become part of our community,” McIver said. “We value that just as much as anything else.”

Growth through relationships

McIver said referrals and repeat clients remain the team’s largest source of new business. While digital advertising, events, direct mail and open houses contribute to lead generation, she said long-term client relationships remain central to the business.

“Our most meaningful driver of new business continues to be our brand and our client relationships,” she said. “Much of our growth comes from referrals and repeat clients, which is a reflection of the trust we’ve built over time.”

Maintaining contact between transactions is also part of the strategy. Events, publications and seminars help the team remain connected to clients during periods when they may not be actively buying or selling.

“Everything we do is in service to our clients,” McIver said. “And that requires both a strategic and highly tailored approach.”

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