This week has been all about fun and games.  First Inman News reports that Coldwell Banker ”goes virtual” with home sales on Second Life, then today Drew Myers at Zillow solicits ideas for real estate games using the Z

illow API. Since we’re all in the gaming spirit, we’d thought this would be the perfect time to share what we’ve been up to in the real estate gaming world.

We have a lot of stuff in the pot, and want to tickle you guys with the latest real estate tool we have in the works…Fantasy Real Estate  ™.

What is it? I’m not telling.

What’s it about? I’m not telling.

Is it a mashup? Is it a search engine? Maybe…

Is it going to get agents more business? yes
Will the public use it to find homes? yes
Will New data models be created with this? yes
Have I ever seen anything like it? NO!

We have been programming this for a long time, and we are very excited to say that it is in the last phase of development before we release it… Go check it out and get on the list for beta testers and early notifications.

 ”(also known as rotisserie, roto, or fairy-tale sport; or owner simulation) is a game where fantasy owners build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by individual players or teams of a professional sport. Probably the most common variant converts statistical performance into points that are compiled and totaled according to a roster selected by a manager that makes up a fantasy team. These point systems are typically simple enough to be manually calculated by a “league commissioner.”

The greatest thrill for anyone playing  a Fantasy game is the statistics that are generated to illustrate performances of individuals, teams, and franchises.  These statistics are the driving force behind Fantasy games and is what keeps fantasy gamers coming back.  Predicting key performance indicators and how individuals and teams stack up against stats and odds is absolutely exciting.  What if we can make real estate this exciting ?  I’m sure we can! 

Real Estate is a prime candidate for Fantasy Games since it generates tons of statistics, there’s lots of players - i.e. agents, buyers, sellers, brokers - and there’s lots of $$$ involved.  The best part about Fantasy Real Estate ™ games is that everyone thinks they know the market.  Well if you think you know the market, stay tuned…