Could ‘Pokemon Go’ Soon Help You Sell Your House

On 14th July 2106 “Pokemon Go”, a mobile game that has become a global phenomenon, was finally released in the UK and don’t we know it. You can’t look at your social media feed or news sources without being inundated with stories of Pokemon hunters and silly people playing the game while not being aware of their surroundings.

The game itself – just in case you may have missed all the recent media – uses a smartphone’s GPS location and real-world maps to track players as they move around their real world environment. Players can capture Pokemon along your journeys, visit Pokestops – typically landmarks or buildings – and collect free items in the game.

“Pokemon Go” – created by Niantic and The Pokemon Company – is aimed at the younger generation but this hasn’t stopped hoards of adults downloading the app and taking up the craze.

So what has this got to do with the property market? Why is National Homebuyers giving me information about a kids game? Well, it does not take a teenager to see the potential value to property sellers this new game app has in helping to sell properties. Having a “Pokemon Go” gym or lots of Pokestops nearby could become a feature of a house.

When trying to sell a house the goal is to get as many people to view a property as possible and interested in the house so ultimately if there are Pokemon gyms nearby or a high stock of Pokemon in the area then the house could appeal to a Pokemon-obsessed individual. In the UK the new craze is still in its infancy as it has only just been launched but in the USA, where is has been available for longer, people are already using this game to help sell their homes.

National Homebuyers has discovered that featured on Zillow, which is a US online real estate company similar to Rightmove here in the UK, is a property for sale in Redmond, Washington, which as well as listing the usually details for a house also states that the house has a “Pokemon Go” gym less than five minutes away.

There is also another property on the same website that says their house benefits from “3 Pokemon Go Gyms, and 5 Pokestops. They go on into more detail stating that there has been a confirmed Squirtle sighting in the house back garden backyard, and there is possibly a Charizard lvl 7 in the next door neighbours shed.

I can imagine it won’t be too long before people in the UK start doing the something and informing people that their house is actually a Pokemon gym, if they haven’t started too already.

Niantic – the company behind the game – has already said that it plans to start selling locations in its augmented reality, and users can already use temporary “lures” to attract other people to their areas. So it won’t be too long until you can pay to add features to your property in the “Pokemon Go” world making it more appealing to buyers who play the game in the real world. Let’s wait and see what happens. Is this game just a passing trend or a long-term creation of any alternative world?

But all this could be bad news for some house owners because they may not have any “Pokemon Go” features nearby which in the future may prevent people from buying that particular house. But do not threat or fear if you find yourself in this predicament because here at National Homebuyers we buy any house regardless of whether it has nearby “Pokemon Go” features or not. We don’t care if Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Wartorle, Charmander, Charmeleon, Jirachi, Absol, Keldeo or any other Pokemon character does not grace your area, we will buy it regardless.

National Homebuyers would just like to point out that if you do become one of the many people who are playing this new game please remember to be safe and alert at all times, don’t drive and play, respect the locations you visit and people you meet during your exploration.

Happy Hunting!!!!