Mortgage Solutions Group, PLLC
Hasbro offers millennial version of Monopoly
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Published Date 11/20/2018
Pass go and collect $200? How about buying a few houses on Pennsylvania Avenue or putting up a few apartment buildings along Park Place or the Boardwalk?
Maybe not. It seems Hasbro, maker of the board game Monopoly, is putting out a new version of the game to appeal to gen Y-ers and millennials, playing into some pervasive stereotypes. Players no longer strive to become real estate investors by buying up properties, homes, and hotels on the board. Rather, they vie for "experiences" like a trip to a three-day music festival, a vegan bistro, or couch surfing.
Realtor.com's Claire Trapasso reports on the new version with tongue in cheek humor. ”’Forget real estate. You can't afford it anyway,’ reads the game's tagline on the front of the box. Ouch.”
She quotes Hasbro officials, who explain their reasoning behind this fun-poking. ”We created Monopoly for Millennials to provide fans with a lighthearted game that allows millennials to take a break from real life and laugh at the relatable experiences and labels that can sometimes be placed on them. With many of us being millennials ourselves, we understand the seemingly endless struggles and silly generalizations that young millennials can face (and we can’t even!).”
According to Wikipedia, the earliest known version of Monopoly, known as “The Landlord's Game,” was designed by an American, Elizabeth Magie, and first patented in 1904 but existed as early as 1902. Magie designed the game to illustrate the economic consequences of economic privilege and land value taxation.
With home prices rising at a higher pace than wages, home affordability for what is fast-approaching a middle-aged pair of generations (many of whom are laden with student loan debt) is not getting any easier.
Trapasso reports that the median home price nationally was $295,000—up 7.3% from last year, according to the most recent realtor.com® data available with prices significantly higher in the big cities and along the coasts. Add rising mortgage rates to that, and somehow a game that takes you on a week-long yoga adventure in the Greek isles might help you decompress.
“Those who aren't living in their parents' basement rent-free are paying their landlords instead of putting their hard-earned cash into their own homes, where it could have appreciated over time,” says Trapasso. “That's equity that can be used to help fund the purchase of a bigger home or even be tapped into if there's an emergency.”
Trapasso also quotes Realtor’s senior economist, Joseph Kirchner: ”Do you really want to have a cappuccino every day instead of building wealth in a house? Buying a home is the primary way that the middle class builds wealth.”
Source: Realtor, Wikipedia, TBWS
All information furnished has been forwarded to you and is provided by thetbwsgroup only for informational purposes. Forecasting shall be considered as events which may be expected but not guaranteed. Neither the forwarding party and/or company nor thetbwsgroup assume any responsibility to any person who relies on information or forecasting contained in this report and disclaims all liability in respect to decisions or actions, or lack thereof based on any or all of the contents of this report.
Gene Fuessel
Sr Loan Officer/Broker
NMLS: 181064
Mortgage Solutions Group, PLLC
Company NMLS: 2179191
Cell: 512-733-6207
Gene Fuessel
___
Sr Loan Officer/Broker
NMLS: 181064
Cell: 512-733-6207
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