A Commercial Real Estate Simulation You Can Play

Most "real estate" games are about collecting rent from a board. A commercial real estate simulation has to get the money right: what a building earns after costs, what a buyer will pay for that income, what a bank will lend against it, and how the market moves all three. That's the core of CRE Tycoon. You play it as a 10-year career, first as a broker, then as an investor.

What the simulation models

Value comes from income

Every building has rent, vacancy and operating costs. What's left is net operating income (NOI), and the building's value is its NOI divided by a cap rate, just as appraisers value income property. Cap rates in the game run from about 4.9% to 8.3% at listing, and they move with the building's class, the district and the market cycle. Raise the NOI or the class, and the value follows.

Leasing up and business plans

Many buildings come part-empty. Left alone, a building only fills part of the way; a business plan (stabilize, value-add, reposition or redevelop) funds the work in stages and leases it up over months. Occupancy, rent and value climb as it does. Six upgrade tracks then push rent up and costs down, and every level adds more value than it costs.

Financing and the bank's coverage test

Purchases are financed with a down payment and an interest-only loan priced off a benchmark rate that moves month to month. The lender checks debt service coverage: the building's income has to cover the loan payment, or the loan is refused. Better loan tiers open up as you rank up. Purchases close at the end of the month, like real closings.

Refinancing

Once a building is stabilized and at least 90% occupied, you can refinance: the lender appraises it at today's value, lends up to 72% of that, takes 1.5% in costs, and pays off the old loan. Whatever's left is cash to you, and it isn't taxed, because it's a loan, not income. A building can be refinanced again six months later. This is the "buy, fix, refinance" cycle real investors run, and the Learn article walks through it.

Selling: costs, taxes and the market

Buyers pay a little under appraised value and offer under asking. A sale pays 5% in selling costs, then capital-gains tax on the profit, which falls from 40% if you sell inside a year to 15% after three years. In a rising market, a listing priced under the market draws more buyers and stronger offers, and you choose whether to raise your price.

Brokerage and escrow

Before you can buy, you earn. As a broker you find buyer clients and listing clients, match buyers to buildings, put in offers at about 90% of asking, and field counters. Accepted deals go into escrow for a few months, where things go wrong the way they do in real life: inspection findings, a lender getting cold feet, title problems, a buyer trying to renegotiate. Your answer decides whether the deal survives and what your commission ends up being.

A market that moves

The market runs through six states: boom, hot, stable, cooling, downturn and distress. Interest rates drift, districts gain and lose value, and rival brokers buy the bargains you don't. Timing a sale or a refinance against the cycle is a large part of a good career.

Real life vs the simulation

Real commercial real estate	In CRE Tycoon
Value = NOI ÷ market cap rate	Same, with cap rates moved by class, district and cycle
Lender checks DSCR and LTV	Coverage test on purchase; LTV limit on refinance
Lease-up takes capital and months	Business plans funded in stages over months
Cash-out refinance isn't taxed	Refinance proceeds are tax-free
Short holds are taxed harder	Capital-gains tax falls the longer you hold
Deals fall apart in escrow	Escrow problems you have to answer
Markets cycle	Six market states, a moving benchmark rate

What it simplifies

Time. One turn is a month; a career is 120 months. A new month arrives every hour, so you play a few minutes at a time.
Leases and tenants. Rent, occupancy and events stand in for individual leases, tenant credit and lease negotiations.
Loans. Loans are interest-only, without amortization schedules, prepayment penalties or maturity dates.
Taxes. One capital-gains schedule; no depreciation, 1031 exchanges or entity structuring.
Scale. 157 buildings across 4 districts, from $380K to $48M.

It's a game first. The aim is that the decisions feel like the real ones, and that the money behaves the way it does in real life.

Who it's for

Strategy and tycoon players who want something with real numbers, people curious about how commercial property works, and students or new brokers who'd like to see a decade of deals play out. You start with $100,000, no account, and a phone.

Play the simulation free

Questions

Is CRE Tycoon a realistic commercial real estate simulation?

Realistic in its rules, simplified in its pace. Values come from income and cap rates, loans have to pass a coverage test, escrow can fail, markets cycle, and taxes and selling costs come off a sale. Leases, tenants and paperwork are abstracted so a month takes minutes.

Is there a commercial real estate simulator I can play for free?

CRE Tycoon is free in any browser, on phones and desktop, with no download or account. A full career is 120 months.

Can students use it to learn commercial real estate?

Yes. Playing a career shows how NOI drives value, why lenders care about coverage, how leasing up and refinancing build equity, and why the market cycle matters. The Learn section explains the ideas behind each one.