The developer of a newly constructed condo building on Commercial Drive in Vancouver is offering prospective buyers the chance to spend a free weekend living in a unit so they can get a true feel for the space and neighbourhood.

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It’s another twist on the many incentives being deployed to keep the attention of potential buyers in a historically slumped market.

Try before you buy? Vancouver developer invites potential buyers to free weekend sleepover Back to video

Wesgroup’s ACE On The Drive project, which has one-, two- and three-bedroom homes, is offering its “Try Before You Buy” program to applicants who are pre-qualified for a mortgage.

“We feel strongly that the lifestyle offerings are really the selling point and think people will fall in love with being able to be so close to Commercial Drive, the cafes, bars and restaurants and the homes themselves,” said Wesgroup spokesperson Georgie Couling.

Prospective buyers can apply to be invited to move into one of the one- or three-bedroom units for a weekend. They are furnished demonstration units and participants will get a list of local businesses and gift certificates to try them, she said.

“More and more brands across real estate and other industries are seeing that experiences are becoming so much more paramount when it comes to customers making purchasing decisions,” said Couling.

The company plans to offer the opportunity for several weekends through the summer.

Mike Stewart, a Vancouver-based real estate agent who specializes in presale condos and has seen several boom-and-bust cycles over the decades, said incentives are not only about driving actual sales.

“When the market is good and hot, everyone sees real estate as an appreciating asset they can invest in,” said Stewart. “When there’s uncertainty, it becomes more of a niche and specialized market for seasoned buyers who have a strategic plan.”

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Programs like Wesgroup’s Try Before You Buy are a savvy attempt to make sure that a broader base of potential customers stays warm, he explained.

“It’s to keep the product and name recognition in the mix so that when the outlook improves, they can get the deals,” said Stewart.

Since the summer of 2025, he has been tracking on his website all the different incentives being offered by developers, both for presale projects that need to sell a certain number of units to qualify for financing before construction begins and ones with units that are completed.

Most projects in the market are offering some type of incentive. Last fall, Stewart described what he was seeing as “a bit of an arms race, and a developer is always worried about being left behind.”

In past downturns, developers have offered one-off gifts such as a television or a car. There is an offer of a bike locker on a recent listing on Stewart’s website.

Others hold lottery draws for a free condo or for an upgrade to a penthouse suite. Some accept low deposit amounts or give cash credits, such as a decorating allowance once a unit is completed.

Stewart applauds Wesgroup for the catchy program.

“It’s similar to going into a store and trying on an article of clothing or shoes,” he said.

He has seen other versions of it before and doesn’t think it is completely original. However, with current events layering on more economic uncertainty and the market looking to the provincial government for policy shifts, it’s all a matter of “throwing something at a wall and seeing what sticks.”

By various estimates, there are more than 3,400 condos in Metro Vancouver that have been completed, but remain unsold.

For the last 10 years, the annual average of presale condos sold in Metro Vancouver was 15,123. In 2025, there were 5,822, which was below the low of 7,722 in 2019.

Would you jump at a chance to spend the night in a home before buying it? Share your views with reporter Joanne Lee-Young at jlee-young@postmedia.com