In just a week’s time, a little app called Pokémon Go has become somewhat of a global phenomenon, resulting in millions of people aimlessly stumbling around trying to catch imaginary creatures on their phone screens.
According to Bisnow, “In the simplest terms, Pokémon GO uses your phone’s GPS and clock to detect where you are and makes Pokémon “appear” around you so you can use your phone’s camera to “catch” them. As you move around, different types of Pokémon will appear depending on the area. The idea is to encourage people to travel around the real world, interacting with it in what is known as an augmented reality game. The app’s popularity and potential for driving foot traffic is unprecedented.”
So what effect does this have on real estate?
Businesses are now using Pokémon as bait to drive more traffic to their stores.
Pokémon pub crawls and meetups are now a real thing. Over 5,000 people RSVP’ed for the mass street and bar crawl of Pokémon enthusiasts through San Francisco alone.
Craigslisters have already begun using their proximity to gyms and PokéStops to lure potential new roommates. Two San Franciscans have an available room near an “awesome Pokemon spawn area!”, while an East Bay apartment is making an attempt to attract potential renters with “so many pokestops and pokemon in so little time!”
Real estate agents are including it to drive foot traffic to their open houses. Jay Glazer, a Manhattan realtor, added to his $1.5 million listing: “I’m fairly certain there is a PIKACHU at this open house, don’t miss it.”
Even home listings are using pokestops as selling points to potentially raise the value of the homes.
On the other hand, there are still some very opposed to the craze. One listing in Mary Esther, Florida, states clearly at the top, “**There are ZERO Pokemon Go features**” (It has yet to be confirmed how many offers they received and whether that statement affected the home’s value in any way.)
It might seem silly to use PokéStops as a criteria in choosing where to live, but if there really are rare pokemon around…how can you turn that down?
