With Metro Vancouver’s housing market in the midst of a very apparent slowdown, developers of new projects are increasingly coming up with unique marketing tactics to unload their inventory and stand out from the pack.

And an upcoming residential development in Coquitlam is no exception.

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Local developer Woodbridge Homes is offering “free avocado toast for a year” to buyers of its Kira condominium development at 740 Dogwood Street — near SkyTrain’s Burquitlam Station.

The deal, targeted to millennials, is for one avocado toast per week for a year. This is only valid for homes written on opening weekend, up until May 5.

There is, however, a bit of flexibility for those who do not want 52 avocado toasts, as the promotion is being provided in the form of a $500 gift card to Browns Social House. Either way though, there is no escaping food (or drinks) as part of the home purchase.

The clever marketing tactic is a lighthearted retort to an assertion made by Australian property developer Tim Gurner in 2017, when he told 60 Minutes Australia younger generations could afford a home if they lowered their lifestyle expectations and started to save for their future.

“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,” he said. “We’re at a point now where the expectations of younger people are very, very high. They want to eat out every day, they want travel to Europe every year.”

“The people that own homes today worked very, very hard for it [and] saved every dollar, did everything they could to get up the property investment ladder.”

Most recently in Seattle, which has been experiencing an oversupply in rental housing, many landlords have accompanied their rental property listings with perks of gift cards worth as much as $2,000 plus months of free rent.

Designed by Ciccozzi Architecture, Kira is a six-storey complex with a total of 116 units. It is scheduled for completion in 2021.

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