Mahogany vs Auburn Bay: Which Calgary Lake Community Fits You?

Last reviewed October 2026 · By Tod Hall and Tausha Hall, REALTORS®, TNT Real Estate Pros | Real Broker

Short answer: Choose Mahogany if you want the bigger lake and beaches, more new construction and the Westman Village shops by the water. Choose Auburn Bay if you’d rather buy a resale home in a nearly finished community with lower, clearly tiered association fees and the South Health Campus right next door. Both are southeast Calgary lake communities with private, residents-only beaches.

Mahogany and Auburn Bay sit side by side in southeast Calgary, a few minutes apart, and share the same hospital, the same highways and the same Seton shopping district. The real differences are the size of the lake, how far along each community is, what you’ll pay each year in association fees, and what kind of home you can buy. Here’s how they line up, as of October 2026.

Mahogany and Auburn Bay at a glance

	Mahogany	Auburn Bay
Lake	Mahogany Lake, about 63 acres, freshwater	About 43 acres, freshwater
Beach	Over 21 acres across two private beaches (Central Beach and West Beach)	A private 13-acre beach and park
Residents’ facility	Mahogany Beach Club: 22,000 sq. ft., gym, splash park, tennis, beach volleyball, hockey rink	Auburn House: gym and rooms to rent, plus beach volleyball, tennis and spray park
Association fee (as of October 2026)	Mahogany Homeowners Association, mandatory annual encumbrance fee, adjusted each year by Calgary’s CPI. Check the current schedule at mahoganyhoa.com	Auburn Bay Residents Association 2026/27: $523.92 standard, $720.41 lake access, $1,047.80 lakeshore (GST included)
Developer and era	Hopewell Residential, show homes from 2008	Brookfield Residential, started 2005
Population (2021 census)	About 13,860, planned for close to 25,000	About 18,090
Public schools (CBE)	Mahogany School (K-5), now full; some students go to Bayside or Andrew Sibbald	Auburn Bay School (K-5), Bayside School (K-5), Lakeshore School (6-9, Grade 6 lottery)
Catholic schools (CCSD)	Divine Mercy School (K-6)	Prince of Peace (K-9), St. Gianna (K-6)
High school	Designation varies; check the CBE school finder for the address	Joane Cardinal-Schubert High School in Seton (CBE)
Groceries and shops	Sobeys at Mahogany Plaza, Westman Village by the lake, Diner Deluxe	Calgary Co-op at Auburn Station, Seton next door
Hospital	South Health Campus in Seton, under 10 minutes	South Health Campus in Seton, a few minutes
Transit	Buses only, no CTrain; Stoney Trail and 52 Street SE	Buses, with BRT Route 302 from South Health Campus; Stoney and Deerfoot
Home types	Condos, townhomes, laned and front-garage homes, duplexes, bungalow villas, lakefront estates, adult-only condos	Mostly detached homes, plus townhomes, duplexes and condos
New vs resale	Still building: Avalon, Baywest, Calbridge, Excel, Hopewell, Jayman BUILT, Logel	Largely built out; most homes for sale are resales

Population figures are from the 2021 federal census as reported in the City of Calgary’s community profiles. School designations change from year to year, so check the CBE and Calgary Catholic school finders for any specific address.

Choose Mahogany if…

• The lake itself is the main event. Mahogany Lake is about 63 acres, and the community has more beach area than any other in Calgary, over 21 acres across Central Beach and West Beach. Residents can paddleboard, use non-motorized boats and fish for stocked rainbow trout.
• You want a new build. Hopewell Residential is still developing, and several builders offer everything from townhomes and laned homes to bungalow villas and lakefront estates. If you want to pick finishes or buy a quick-possession new home, Mahogany has far more choice.
• You’re downsizing and want walkable amenities. Westman Village, beside the lake, has about 42,000 sq. ft. of shops and restaurants, plus condos, adult-only condos and a retirement residence connected by heated underground walkways and skywalks. Some condo buildings have 55+ bylaws, so read them before you write an offer.
• A big residents’ club matters to you. The 22,000 sq. ft. Mahogany Beach Club has a gym, splash park, tennis courts, beach volleyball and a hockey rink.
• You’re comfortable with ongoing construction. Mahogany is planned for close to 25,000 people, up from about 13,860 in 2021, so some streets will see building activity for years.

Our team has helped with 12 Mahogany sales since 2016, on both the buying and selling side. For more on the community, see our Mahogany community guide.

Choose Auburn Bay if…

• You want a finished neighbourhood. Brookfield Residential was in its final phase by 2021. Streets, trees and parks are established, and you’re less likely to have a building site behind your fence.
• School choice close to home matters. Auburn Bay has three CBE schools (two K-5 schools and Lakeshore School for Grades 6-9) and two Catholic schools, Prince of Peace (K-9) and St. Gianna (K-6). Lakeshore is full and uses a Grade 6 lottery, so ask about that if you have a child heading into Grade 6.
• You want to be beside the hospital and Seton. South Health Campus, the Brookfield Residential YMCA, the library, Save-On-Foods, Cineplex and MEC are all just south in Seton.
• You like knowing exactly what the fee is. The Auburn Bay Residents Association publishes three tiers each year, so you can compare a standard home, a lake-access home and a lakeshore home before you shop.
• You’re buying resale and want to negotiate. With most listings being resales, you can compare a wider range of established homes, from starter townhomes to larger detached homes, and negotiate on condition and price rather than builder incentives.

We’ve helped with 6 Auburn Bay sales since 2017. Our Auburn Bay community guide covers the schools, parks and amenities in more detail.

Deal counts come from TNT Real Estate Pros’ own sales records (buyer and seller sides), 2016 to October 2026.

Lake access or lakefront: where the value sits

In both communities, every homeowner who pays the association fee can use the private beach. So the question isn’t whether you get the lake. It’s how close you want to live to it, and how much you’ll pay for that over time.

How Auburn Bay prices it

Auburn Bay is one of the clearest examples in the city because the residents’ association charges by location. For 2026/27 the fee is $523.92 for a standard home, $720.41 for a lake-access home and $1,047.80 for a lakeshore home, GST included. That means a lakeshore owner pays about $524 a year more than a standard owner, or roughly $5,240 over ten years at today’s rates. It’s a modest cost next to the purchase price difference, but it’s worth putting in your budget.

How Mahogany prices it

The Mahogany Homeowners Association charges a mandatory annual encumbrance fee registered on title. The HOA adjusts it each year using Statistics Canada’s Consumer Price Index for Calgary, sends invoices in early November, and posts the schedule on its website. Because the amount depends on the property and changes yearly, ask for the current figure for the specific home, and check the title for any additional encumbrances, such as condo fees.

What you’re paying for on the water

Lakefront homes in either community usually sell at a clear premium over homes a block or two back, and the gap is much larger than the yearly fee difference. Before you pay for frontage, think about how you’ll use it:

• Daily lake views come only with frontage. If you’ll be out every summer evening, frontage can be worth it.
• Beach use is the same for everyone. A home a five-minute walk from Central Beach or the Auburn Bay beach gets the same swimming, skating and events.
• Resale buyers for lakefront are a smaller group. These homes can take longer to sell when the market slows, so plan to hold for a while.
• Older lakefront homes may need updating. In Auburn Bay, many lakeshore homes are now well over a decade old. Budget for a full inspection and look at the age of the roof, furnace and dock.

For a rough sense of price levels, CREB’s September 2026 benchmark for a detached home in Calgary’s South East district was $698,900. Lakefront and lake-access homes in both communities can sit well above that, so ask for recent sales of comparable homes on the same type of street, not just in the same community.

The things they have in common

Whichever you pick, you’ll share South Health Campus, Seton’s shops and the YMCA, and the same main routes: Stoney Trail and Deerfoot Trail. Neither community has a CTrain station today. The Green Line’s long-term plan reaches Seton, but the southern stations aren’t funded, so don’t buy expecting a train within a few years. If you’re also weighing nearby options, our guides to Seton and Cranston cover the communities next door.

If you’d like help comparing specific homes in Mahogany and Auburn Bay, including what the fees and recent sales look like for each, we’re happy to talk it through with no pressure. Send us a note or call 587-875-6640.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Talk to your lender, accountant or lawyer about your situation.

Sources: City of Calgary community profiles; Auburn Bay Residents Association; Mahogany Homeowners Association; Calgary Board of Education; Calgary Catholic School District; CREB housing statistics.