The Pokémon Go craze continues, and savvy business owners all over the world are taking advantage of the phenomenon, offering discounts and schwag to visiting trainers. Even the real estate market has entered the fray, as home sellers and landlords use Pokémon Go as a selling feature. Zillow Porchlight, the blog for the multibillion dollar online real estate database, reports listings on the site that mention elements from the game.
Would you purchase a $276,000 home for its “3 Pokémon Go Gyms, and 5 PokéStops”? The motivated sellers sure seem to think so. To sweeten the deal, they confirm a Squirtle sighting in the backyard. Also, there “may or may not be” a level 7 Charizard “in the neighbor’s shed.”
The sellers in another listing pride themselves on a house that is “right down the block from The Franklin Inn (currently the home to a Pokémon Go gym, as well as the best Bloody Marys in Richmond).” Another listing states that a gym is less than five minutes away on foot, and that there are three PokéStops within seven minutes.
One listing takes the opposite approach, opening right up with the line, “There are ZERO Pokémon Go features.” Surely, there are prospective homeowners out there who don’t play the game, and here’s the perfect pocket-monster-free house.
Zillow isn’t the only place to find sellers that lure buyers and renters with tall tales of rare creatures. An ad on Craigslist lists the price and square footage in the title, but also describes the apartment as a “Pokémon GO Paradise!”
If you just need a place to lay your head and charge your exhausted phone for a few days, hop on over to Airbnb, and crash at a pad where “Ingress and Pokémon GO portals are abundant.” The hosts are thoughtful enough to mention the lack of a TARDIS. Too bad.
Pokémon Go is played by people of all ages, so there is a chance that someone entering a listed home to catch a rare Pokémon could have the means to walk out a new homeowner. And for the sellers, getting you in the door is half the battle.
