The evolution of selling property has taken on a neoteric dimension, amalgamating the virtual world of gaming with the stressful reality of attracting buyers to your home. The phenomenon of Pokémon Go has already captured the fanaticism of millions and is on the cusp of becoming a global sensation with the app already boasting a higher number of daily users than Twitter and enticing a level of engagement that supersedes social network giant Facebook.
Great Britain's decision to break away from the European Union has already dealt a significant impact on the country's housing market with new buyer enquiries plummeting and demand hitting an eight-year-low.
However, the widespread appeal of Pokémon Go has provided Estate Agents, Landlords and homeowners with exclusive Pokémon-related assets, which can be utilised to match the requirements of aspiring Pokémon obsessives.
Tactic used in America.
This tactic has already been used in America to interest high numbers of people to open houses as highlighted by a property listing on Zillow – the equivalent of Rightmove in the UK, which emphasised one of its key features as having a Pokémon Go gym less than five minutes away. Remarkably, another property on the same site delved into deeper detail to outline the convenience it can offer to enthusiasts by asserting there has been a confirmed Squirtle sighting in their backyard.
The full statement read, “3 Pokemon Go Gyms, and 5 Pokestops. Confirmed Squirtle sighting in the backyard, and there may or may not be a Charzard lvl [sic] 7 in the neighbours shed. Must see to appreciate.”
Estate agents make the best of it.
If the charm of Pokémon Go can be a mechanism for tempting large numbers of people through the doors of a particular property, then estate agents have to make the most of the situation, just like how the fast food chain McDonalds are.
If a sizeable crowd isdrawn in to view a property purely because of the ‘Pokémon-effect’, then that is only good news for vendors looking to sell at the highest price.
However, it is worth taking a minute to remember that as quick as Pokémon Go became a worldwide craze, it can just as quickly decline into obscurity. Furthermore, with average house prices across England now close to £300,000 according to property experts the Open Property Group, buying a house based purely on the prospect of virtual characters in the garden sounds completely and utterly bonkers.
Having said this, there have been cases of people buying and selling Pokémon Go accounts for a staggering £7300 (which is £200 short of the amount needed for an average house deposit, by the way) just to get access to higher level characters. Thus, with Pokémon Go fans clearly so passionate and rich, why shouldn’t these virtual Japanese characters help estate agents shift houses?
