Hope your week is going well !
Well, it had to happen. It was a matter of time.
A Golden Idea...yes, I'm talking about a Real Estate Investing Video Game !
"Commonwealth Bank’s Investorville... Build a property portfolio without spending a cent". This is how the product was introduced in a Press Release from Commonwealth Bank in Australia.
The program, Investorville", is billed as an "online simulation tool for budding property investors" as per the Press Release, and it operates in a "social game-like environment that uses gameplay to simulate scenarios", as per the story titled, "CommBank releases investment game", written by Laura Parker for GameSpot AU on ZDNet.com.
Investorville is the product of both Commonwealth Bank and creative agency BMF, and incorporates market insights from RP Data. The game "mimics reality to provide people with real-time exposure to the property market, allowing them to make more informed property decisions.", per the Release.
The game was created for both Existing Homeowners and also for those who already own an investment property. The online site is designed to be as, "fun and engaging as it is educational and informative.", says the Release, and it permits users to simulate "ongoing costs, without ever putting any of their own capital at risk".
How does it work?
Parker describes it as follows: Users start by making an online profile with personal relevant information on current budgets and existing real estate investments. Users can then search for investment properties in suburbs across Australia based on their target price; after a property is found, users will have a simulated 15-year period in which they must set rent, decide when to repair or renovate, and deal with events such as changes in interest rates, pay increases or decreases and bad tenants. Users can also choose to purchase more properties as the simulation advances, based on how well their investment is going.
Mark Murray, General Manager Commonwealth Bank Consumer Marketing, explained "the rationale behind the development of Investorville" in the Release as follows: “Making the leap from owning your own property to buying an investment property can seem quite daunting to a lot of people. Investorville helps to break down common misconceptions and show the practicalities of property investment.", and adds that the, "really beneficial part of Investorville is that users can, in the true sense of the term, try before they buy", since, "The properties and data are reflective of the Australian property market and the types of properties available”. Aaron Michie, Interactive Concepts Director at BMF (the creators of Investorville), says the following regarding Investorville; "Investorville combines sophisticated economic modelling and real market data with a simple user-friendly gameplay to give people realism and simplicity.”
The first real estate-oriented application that was developed by the bank was the "Commonwealth Bank Property Guide iPhone App", which was launched in 2010, and it uses "augmented reality to overlay data and tools onto the phone’s screen, providing property information on almost any premises the phone is pointed at"
Does anyone out there think there is a version for the Wii or Xbox on the horizon? As silly as it may be for me to admit, I think it is a very good possibility.
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Have a Great Week, and Happy Rent-to-Owning !
Regards,
Rob Eisenstein
HomeRun Homes Blog: http://blogging.lease2buy.com
HomeRun Homes Websites: http://www.lease2buy.com and http://www.homerunhomes.com
TAGS: #RealEstateInvesting #socialgame #propertyinvestor #Australianproperty #iPhoneApp
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