An ad on Zillow for a home in Redmond, Washington, details a long list of upgrades, including a new roof, new hardwood floors, a tankless water heater and, at the bottom of the list, a “Pokemon Go” gym less than five minutes away. Another in Tacoma, Washington, goes into more detail: “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!”
Another listing, however, in Mary Esther, Florida, states clearly at the top, “**There are ZERO Pokemon Go features**”
“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, who admitted with a hearty laugh that when his own friends learned of his addiction to the app, they were, “shocked and appalled that I was involved!”
The swift popularity of Pokemon Go has everyone talking about it now, but some warn it could be short-lived and not worth any real investment, at least from the sell side of real estate.
“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, but given the younger age demographic of players, she admits, “It could be more of a phenomenon in rental housing than in for-sale housing.”
The opportunity for sellers to use “Pokemon Go” is just as real as the sought-after characters are unreal. Niantic, the company behind the game, has already said that it plans to start selling locations, and users can already use temporary “lures” to attract gamers to their areas.
