A piece of metaverse real estate is an NFT that provides the holder with a digital proof of ownership over land on a metaverse platform. The land can, in most cases, be built upon to create experiences that lend themselves to advertising, socializing, marketing, entertainment, and more. The value of each plot of land depends on these factors, as well as overall market sentiment, collectibility, and platform popularity.
How Does Real Estate Exist In The Metaverse?
For newcomers to the metaverse, digital real estate can sound like an oxymoron. The idea of the physical property and real estate are firmly intertwined. However, while blockchain-based real estate in the metaverse may not be physical, it offers the same or perhaps even stronger ownership rights over a plot of (digital) land. Land ownership in a game, community, or other platform is represented by an (NFT).
Your metaverse real estate might be in a popular area with lots of digital foot traffic, making it suitable as advertising space. Staking benefits and other utilities also boost the value of the land. The specific metaverse platform you’re on will determine the value of your land.
Some metaverse platforms allow you a considerable degree of personalization, so you can build and plan your own space, events, and experiences.
What Is Metaverse Land?:
Typically, a metaverse will divide its space into different areas, including plots of free land, which users can easily purchase and use for a variety of purposes (we will detail those later on). This land is not only purchasable but also programmable, and it’s bought, sold or exchanged in the form of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in exchange for cryptocurrency and even fiat. Spaces are valuable as users can create several experiences, play games, socialize, host events, and more. As they are NFTs, the ownership over the land and the digital assets in it can be easily proven. All transactions involving metaverse land are equally public records. Users can normally purchase a plot of metaverse land through the platform’s marketplace – or opt for a third-party NFT platform such as OpenSea and Raible.
The surge in the popularity of technology has meant big business. The virtual real estate industry is already pulling in big numbers for developers and sellers – and the market is only getting bigger. Metaverse property prices rose 700% in 2021 and the overall market reached $500 million. As if that wasn’t enough, the market is expected to double to US$1 billion in 2022.
What Can You Use Virtual Land For?:
With prices of virtual land surging to record highs, many have accused some investors of fueling a speculative NFT market. But it isn’t just the price speculation that’s driving the hype. For many other users, land in the metaverse represents an opportunity to monetize virtual assets and experiences taking place within it. From renting to managing metaverse land.
Some Of The Revenue-Producing Trends Playing Out Include:
1. Flipping Land:
Users can choose to snap up a plot of virtual land and re-sell it for a markup.
2. Building Infrastructures:
Rather than letting a plot of land sit idle, many users are opting to build upon it a wide range of virtual properties, for themselves or that users can also use. That includes digital casinos, clubs, concert venues, NFT galleries, stores, and much more.
3. Brokering:
The popularity of land NFTs has seen the emergence of dedicated real estate brokers who, much like in real life, link sellers to prospective buyers, or simply advise clients on how to best manage their metaverse properties.
4. Advertising:
Areas of the metaverse with heavy foot traffic are increasingly becoming valuable spots for advertising purposes. Owners of that land can rent it out and let companies use it to promote their products and services.
5. Events and Services:
The metaverse is designed to magnify the experiences we already have online, while helping create new ones. As such, land in the metaverse is being used to host events and run services. Metaverses like the Sandbox also encourage users to create and publish mini-games and educational activities that others in the community can benefit from.
Several established companies are now resorting to the metaverse as a complement to real-life operations, allowing clients to access services and interact with staff almost as they would in the real world. A raft of financial players has started looking into additional ways of making business in the metaverse by exploring virtual real estate lending, metaverse mortgages, consumer lending and crypto transactions.
Top metaverses
1. The Sandbox:
As touched upon above, lots on the Sandbox are marked as LAND and they can be found through the Sandbox’s platform or be purchased second-hand on some third-party NFT exchanges, such as OpenSea and Raible. Bear in mind these have traditionally been more expensive than LAND in official sales.
2. Decentraland:
This metaverse has ranked at the top of most expensive sales, with plots going for millions. A lot of the allure of Decentraland is related to the platform’s high-profile partnerships with brands as well as its celebrity and influencer tenants.
3.CryptoVoxels:
This is a digital world that ranks amongst the smallest, originally consisting of just 3,026 parcels. Those can be bought through primary sales or via OpenSea, in exchange for both USD and ETH. Unlike other metaverses, CryptoVoxels has kept expanding and currently features 7351 parcels. The lowest price for a plot of land is currently around 1.899 ETH.
4. Somnium Space:
This metaverse first came into the scene in 2018 and has a heavy focus on virtual reality offerings it’s known for its games and NFT art. As of the beginning of 2022, there were 5,000 unevenly divided land parcels in the platform. However, more land is expected to be released in the future. The currency of Somnium Space is $CUBE and plots of land can easily be found on OpenSea.
Is Metaverse Land a good investment?:
As with any other emerging technology, there are risks and rewards associated with any investment you might think of making. And sure, metaverse land (and the lack of tangible assets) might seem like a mind-boggling concept to many, but the potential of virtual worlds as well as adjacent technologies like virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence can hardly be disputed. Only time will tell whether the metaverse is just another speculative investment filled with overpriced digital properties, or if virtual worlds are the future of the internet.
How To Buy Virtual Land In The Metaverse:
Buying and selling virtual land follows the same principles of NFT sales. Normally, this shouldn’t be much of a hassle. To begin with, most metaverse platforms can easily be accessed through a desktop platform, giving interested buyers a snapshot of available land as well as important aspects including location, total area, average prices, utility potential and transaction history.
Once you’ve selected a piece of land you’re interested in purchasing, you might either look at the metaverse’s marketplace or take a look at a secondary NFT platform like OpenSea and Binance NFT. Remember that land in the metaverse is exchanged as NFT and, as such, the deed of ownership is etched on a blockchain. This helps protect owners against fraud and other misfortunes.
Before Proceeding With Any purchase, Make Sure You Go Through The Following Steps:
1. Open a Digital Crypto Wallet:
Most metaverses will require that you have a cryptocurrency to make transactions. Naturally, a digital wallet will be necessary to hold your virtual money and the digital assets you own. The wallet you choose will depend on the metaverse platform you’re using. For the best possible experience, we suggest you consider a digital wallet that can directly be integrated into your web browser. Some of the top digital wallets include MetaMask and Binance Chain Wallet. However, no matter which crypto wallet you go for, make sure it supports the currency of the virtual project you plan on investing in. Metaverse platforms will normally explain which are preferred and how to link them.
2. Buy Cryptocurrency
As mentioned in the previous step, you will need enough of your metaverse’s in-platform currency to complete transactions. You can easily buy some of the most popular currencies like $MANA, $SAND and $ETH on exchanges like Binance, Coinbase or KuCoin.
3. Select a Metaverse
Unless you already have a virtual land project in mind, you might want to compare available options before committing. Top platforms like Decentraland and Sandbox sell virtual lands through tokens like MANA and SAND respectively. The area and amount of land will vary from the metaverse to the metaverse. During this step, you should be able to easily check details like price, total size and the current owner.
4. Confirm Your Purchase:
Once you have your digital money in your digital wallet and you’ve finally picked a plot of land, you can simply head to the metaverse’s marketplace (or a third-party platform) and click buy. Once your real estate transaction is confirmed and executed, you should be able to see your NFT in your wallet. Moreover, you’ll be recorded as the new owner of the land. As simple as that. From here, you might decide to hold on to your property for a while, build something on top of it or re-list it and sell it again – hopefully for a profit.
Conclusion:
The long-term adoption and uptake of metaverse real estate go beyond the hype: they rely on actual use cases and utility to succeed. Nevertheless, it’s fascinating to see the journey metaverse real estate has already taken in such a short time. As the metaverse’s popularity and building blocks continue to rise, so will its maturity. As such, becoming familiar with digital property is a sound idea for any potential user or investor who is interested in the future of the metaverse.
