Despite adding a redesigned roof deck might help draw potential buyers to the open house at his $1.5 million listing, real estate agent Jay Glazer near Manhattan’s Washington Square Park decided to add this line to the sale advertisement for the house: “I’m fairly certain there is a PIKACHU at this open house, don’t miss it.”

Adding the app was something of an appetizer to the ad, Glazer says even though of the dozen or so people who showed up, only one knew exactly what “Pokemon Go” was.

“I think at the end of the day the goal is to get as many people through the door and interested in the apartment, and ultimately, if there’s a ‘Pokemon’ obsessed person out there who also likes this home, then we want them here, and this is the best way to attract them,” said Glazer, 32, a “Pokemon Go” player himself, reports CNBC.

This indicates that the game is being used by real estate agents to play the game of selling.

A “Pokemon Go” gym less than five minutes away was listed in an ad on Zillow for a home in Redmond, Washington, apart from other necessary details of upgrades, including a new roof, new hardwood floors and a tankless water heater.

“3 Pokemon Go Gyms, and 5 Pokestops. Confirmed Squirrtle sighting in the backyard, and there may or may not be a Charzard lvl 7 in the neighbors shed. Must see to appreciate!” says another real estate ad in Tacoma, Washington.

“I think that sellers might be opposed to advertising ‘Pokemon Go’ in their listings ultimately because — let’s admit — it is a little bit childish and not necessarily highbrow, and if you’re going for a certain look or aesthetic, a theme such as sophistication, it’s ultimately not going to fit in with that,” said Glazer. He however said that when his own friends learned of his addiction to the app, they were, “shocked and appalled that I was involved!”, albeit with a hearty laugh.

Some warn it could be short-lived and not worth any real investment, at least from the sell side of real estate even as the swift popularity of Pokemon Go has everyone talking about it now.

“I think right now it has more than a novel feeling to it. I don’t think people are expecting it to move the needle on any point,” said Svenja Gudell, chief economist at Zillow.

“It could be more of a phenomenon in rental housing than in for-sale housing,” she however says given the younger age demographic of players.

“This is just the beginning to be honest,” said Deborah Bruzzo, a real estate agent with McEnearney Associates Commercial, and also a former Washington, D.C., restaurant owner.

From restaurants offering special “Pokemon Go” menus and drinks to malls using it to rejuvenate lagging traffic, even to offices, Bruzzo sees the potential for commercial real estate as exponential.

“With the millennials and open office space, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see advertising office space as a Pokemon gym now,” she said.

Given its vast potential, even analysts are suggesting retailers “embrace” “Pokemon Go”. In a note to investors this week, Cowen and Co.’s Oliver Chen listed them:

The image of increased competition for a particular listing could be given by Pokemon and may bring more people to an open house. However whether that turns into an actual sale is still to be seen.

(Adapted from CNBC)

Categories: Creativity, Economy & Finance, Entrepreneurship, Uncategorized