Metaverse Real Estate

If you’re keen to know the hottest real estate address these days, the property which everyone from Rihanna to Snoop Dogg to Daler Mehendi have invested in, the property that might give you millions of Dollars of ROI, well then don’t start looking for its address on Google Maps because this place is in a whole new universe. Yes, quite literally- its the Metaverse which is a multidimensional virtual universe that only exists on the internet.

In 2021, Metaverse real estate sales on the major Metaverse platforms reached $501 million and are expected to double to $1 billion in no time. Not surprisingly celebrities are investing millions in the metaverse because the return on investment in virtual real estate is expected to be in another stratosphere.

A few years ago, if we talked about virtual real estate, it would have seemed to be straight out of a Hollywood sci fi film, but today business worth billions of Dollars is taking place in the virtual real estate sector as companies get ready for the next phase of the Internet, Web 3.0. AR, VR, AI, Blockchain, Crypto, NFT and Metaverse are all changing the way we will use the internet going forward.

What Is Virtual Real Estate?

A whole new virtual world needs virtual real estate, after all, the Metaverse just like the real world will have offices, shops, malls, homes etc and for this reason, the prices of virtual real estate are also beginning to skyrocket.

So while it may now seem to be clear that virtual real estate is a possible goldmine, some of you may be still wondering what virtual real estate actually is?

It’s investing in a future where properties and addresses will only exist online and entry will only be possible by logging in.

To put it in the simplest way, virtual plots are just a group of pixels in any virtual world hosted on the internet backed by blockchain technology.

Like real life, the prices of these online properties also depend on the location. If the demand for a location goes up, you can expect good returns on your investment. These days, locations on platforms like Decentraland, Sandbox, Next Earth, and Fortnite are considered prime locations. It’s not just celebrities and individuals who are looking at buying virtual real estate, even brands, banks and businesses have also entered the metaverse.

Just like in real life, where cities and areas which have great infrastructure and plenty of facilities are more expensive to purchase property in, the same applies to the Metaverse as well. This is why it is more expensive to purchase property on more popular and more developed Metaverse platforms such as Decentraland, The Sandbox, Next Earth and such, where many celebrities have already invested.

A map of the Next Earth virtual lands.

Talking about Next Earth blockchain technology company, Metalok has purchased land in Next Earth to provide sports fans with an arena that gives them a sporting experience like never before.

Metalok land in Next Earth metaverse

How Can Virtual Land Be Bought?

Virtual real estate is an NFT which stands for Non Fungible Token. The purchase is made in cryptocurrency, for which it is very important to have a crypto wallet.

Next proceed to the platform of the metaverse of your choice.

Set up your account, link it to your wallet and you are ready to buy the listed virtual land.

Some metaverse platforms have their own crypto currency such as ‘Sand’ of The Sandbox and Decentraland’s MANA. Before any purchase, do carefully read all the details such as the currency needed etc.

Like real life, virtual land is also registered. This registration is actually much more secure than real life because it is registered on blockchain technology. This means that no one can claim your land tomorrow or capture it.

Decentraland, The Sandbox, Somni Space, Cryptovoxels, Nextearth, have more than 2,68,645 parcels of Land available. The Sandbox is currently the biggest player. It saw growth by 15,000 per cent in 2021.

Virtual Real Estate Property Agents

The Metaverse has opened up a new space, quite literally, for various performing artists to showcase their talents. Just as in the real world, tickets can be sold for concerts and performances and event organisers are very much the need of the hour in the Meta-verse as well. World famous DJ David Guetta recently hosted a virtual DJ party on the platform Roblox.

DJ David Guetta concert on Roblox.

You can also buy virtual real estate from marketplaces like Opensea where virtual lands or properties will be listed as an NFT.

Again like in real life, there are property agents in the world of Meta, but there are also many frauds who are taking advantage of people due to lack of regulations in this world.

Many such cases have arisen where frauds have sent a link of a virtual property similar to one listed on the real metaverse. As soon as the user linked the wallet to buy virtual land, these frauds vacated the crypto wallet and the potential real estate buyer did not even get the land. So one has to be really careful when dealing with virtual real estate agents.

Putting Virtual Real Estate On Rent

Gucci vault in The Sandbox

One can also rent out his virtual property. These days, stores like Gucci and banks like HSBC are also opening in the metaverse. Your virtual land can be used for any brand’s store or branch and even as a space for an event. Events have become very popular in the Metaverse with some of the biggest names such as David Guetta and Travis Scott performing in the Metaverse.

Travis Scott held a nine minute concert inside a popular video game Fortnite (another Metaverse platform) and made 20 million Dollars. 12 million people attended the concert from the comfort of their rooms. A concert of this scale would have been damn difficult to execute in real life but wasn’t in the Metaverse. These events in the Metaverse are able to attract millions by just tapping into the user base of the metaverse it is being held in.

You can also earn a good income from the virtual real estate space if you are a developer or an interior decorator. For example, you can develop a building and can later sell virtual flats to live in virtually, or decorate any property as a designer. People these days are also buying virtual lands to build houses where they can socialise with other avatars, a very next Gen idea!

Why Virtual Real Estate Can Be A Good investment?

In the year 2017, when a legendary Metaverse Platform, The Sandbox sold a land parcel, it was worth $20. In the year 2021, the same dimensions of land was worth $6000 and then $15000 in 2022.

Snoop Dogg Land in The Sandbox metaverse

Risk In Investing In Virtual Real Estate

The real estate market in the Metaverse is not regulated and therefore is not stable. Today, the world of Meta is seen as the future but tomorrow a collapse of this virtual world for whatever reason could mean the loss of millions.

Apart from this, valuation in this sphere is being described as unclear. Without regulated authorities conducting evaluations, investing in virtual property can be a risky venture.

Also the means to buy property, that is Cryptocurrency, is not regulated in India nor is virtual real estate. So while many have made huge returns on their investment in virtual real estate, tread with caution and invest thoughtfully and carefully.