Introduction
In October 2021, Facebook rechristened itself to Meta. The emergence of the fascinating world of Meta by combining the real and online worlds, viz. metaverse, will be the next evolution of social technologies.
Meta has plans to offer jobs to 10k personnel in Europe to take forward the proprietary metaverse. Meta is a well-known technology-driven company, banking on the future of the following aspects:
- Online shopping malls
- Digital orchestra with real performers
- Meeting and greeting real people virtually
- Remote game nights
- A platform to interact with friends and family when they are globe-trotting
Other big brands like Nike and Microsoft have also entered the virtual world. Millennials and the younger populace would find it attractive to invest in a culture that offers virtual and conventional real estate.
Real estate agents are entering the world of metaverse real estate. Metaverse facilitates buying, selling, and developing digital or virtual lands entirely in a virtual world. It is not so easy to get into virtual land dealing by all and sundry. There could be scams galore and it could potentially risk under-informed investment decisions for real estate agents. But if this business of virtual land dealing takes off, then early entrants could make a windfall.
Metaverses have been under development for some time, including blockchain-powered worlds of The Sandbox (SAND/USD) and Decentraland (MANA/USD). It would be interesting to see what kind of opportunity metaverse creates for real estate agents? But these crypto-based technologies are also facing stiff challenges from large technology companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Nike.
Virtual Real Estate
The Metaverse group is the leading virtual real estate company facilitating investments in virtual properties through metaverses. Metaverse property aids in acquiring virtual lands along with a plethora of virtual property-centric services.
Crypto assets, non-fungible tokens (NFT), and blockchain industries extend these services in the virtual realm. The virtual real estate agents focus on two blockchain-based metaverses: The Sandbox and Decentraland.
These metaverses permit users to buy virtual or digital land with non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Post-purchase, the buyer can develop the virtual lands into commercial buildings, residential complexes, or other developments within the realm of virtual economy.
The primary motivation for purchasing virtual lands is high returns on investments. Anyone can check its legitimacy while buying a digital asset stored on the blockchain. You can subsequently sell it if it fetches higher value or even rent it out for conducting virtual events.
Let us have a look at a couple of virtual lands transactions:
- Tokens.com bought a virtual property at Decentraland for US$ 2.4 million (Equivalent to INR 1.8 crore) worth of crypto assets. The buyer has plans to build a fashion store and virtual event centre.
- Metaverse developer Republic Realm purchased a piece of land in the Sandbox for US$ 4.3 million (Equivalent to INR 3.25 crore).
The creative and well-versed real estate agents could carve out a niche in the metaverse and even charge a commission.
To become a successful real estate agent in the virtual world, they have to become experts in complex metaverse transactions. These real estate agents must understand crypto wallets, crypto exchanges, and the Ethereum blockchain technology on which the Sandbox and Decentraland function.
Metaverse Real Estate
A metaverse is a 3D online world where users can perform various virtual activities, including:
- Virtual interactions
- Meeting with distant friends and relatives
- Going for a walk in the virtual world
- Own a piece of metaverse land
Users can access these metaverses on a desktop, laptop, or smartphone device. Metaverses offer or plan to provide the following services to interested individuals/parties:
- Buying and selling of virtual lands throughout the metaverses
- Realising dreams by developing virtual lands you possess
- Consultancy services by a group of experts for all renowned metaverses
- Identification of a rental within the metaverses to suit any requirement
- Marketing and advertising services for your business in the metaverse
The prominent agents in virtual real estate are getting associated with the metaverse developers to design and market properties. The metaverse is lining up numerous virtual real estate projects for launch. Some real estate agents are also investing in digital land in anticipation of profits.
Conclusion
With metaverse becoming an evolutionary step in social technologies, millennials and younger generations will adopt it sooner or later. Metaverse would be a combination of real and virtual worlds.
A niche carved out on the metaverse is buying, selling, and developing virtual real estate or virtual lands. The real estate agent must be conversant with blockchain technology, crypto assets, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). The virtual land transactions are complex. They require expertise in metaverses like the Sandbox and Decentraland for execution.
It is too early to draw inferences about the success of real estate agents in the virtual world. However, this business has the potential to take off, which is evident from a couple of deals that we mentioned above. Further, virtual land transactions are taking place in crypto assets, thus becoming a payment mechanism for users. So, start investing in crypto assets on one of the oldest crypto exchanges in India, Zebpay.
