Over the last couple of years, the real estate sector has witnessed some great technological disruptions. Further leaping, technological advancements are set to revolutionize the realty sector as virtual land deals are gaining momentum significantly. The accelerated tech adoption has surged the popularity of the metaverse across the globe and real estate in the metaverse is the talk of the town!
Real estate in the metaverse is a virtual ecosystem, a replica of real-world conditions. It combines technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and video to create a digital space where users can interact, play and communicate virtually just like they do in the real world. Every land parcel in metaverse stands unique and non-replicable. These assets are digital creations and programmable, and allow the users to meet, socialize, develop, play, hold meetings, and do transactions as they do in real-world scenarios.
There has been a mammoth rise in global interest in the real estate metaverse and the segment is becoming popular. Today, various metaverse platforms are offering opportunities to buy properties very easily with the help of digital wallets. In the real estate metaverse, one can buy land as non-fungible tokens (NFT) using cryptocurrencies. The interested buyers can choose a property and purchase it by linking their wallets to the platform.
These are treated as tradeable digital assets with recorded ownership on the blockchain, which is a decentralized immutable ledger for recording the provenance of a digital asset. Owing to the intrinsic nature and design, the data on a blockchain is immune to any modifications. This virtual land can further be sold out through a third-party exchange or the metaverse ecosystem.
However, the metaverse has already grabbed the interest of crypto enthusiasts, even the big corporates, brands, celebs, and other investors are fast catching up with the trend of the new digital world. The virtual land is gaining popularity significantly as here the owners can also monetize their content, and brands can advertise their products, and hold events like product launches to offer a superior customer experience.
The sector is in a developing stage and investors should carefully evaluate all the risks before investing to get maximum returns and benefits. The investors should also know that in this digital world, they don’t acquire the spaces physically and the owned properties can become non-existent if the meta platform goes offline or becomes inaccessible.
At a first impression, the concept of virtual real estate or owning virtual land might seem farfetched. However, one can’t refute how technological advancements have revolutionized the world we live in today and it continues to do so. According to experts, the metaverse might emerge as a fully operational economy in the future providing us with virtual living experience integrated into our daily lives as social networking is in today’s age. Besides, it is no more alien how blockchain has evolved and changed the world.
Blockchain technology has been the major disruptor at the macro-level. Similarly, real estate in the metaverse would bring a seismic change in the years to come and investors across the sectors have started acknowledging it. First movers progressing towards commercialization in the metaverse might be on edge in exploring the unique business opportunities and harnessing its potential in the future.
The real estate metaverse is on its way to becoming the next big thing. It is relatively a new trend, a new world but in the coming period, it will unlock myriad opportunities for the investors which will be both exciting and rewarding.
The opportunities in the segment are huge as real estate sales on major metaverse platforms reached $501 million last year, as per a report. Besides, according to the Bloomberg analysis report, the metaverse is pegged to become a $800-billion market by 2024 with global tech giants investing big money in making it a reality.
(By Jatin Goel, Director, Omaxe Ltd)
Disclaimer: This is the author’s personal opinion. Readers are advised to consult their financial planner before making any investment.