Virtual house or land. The future of real estate?

24.01.2022

Virtual house or land. The future of real estate?
More and more companies are investing large sums of money by buying houses, land or flats in a virtual world. Is this trend set to continue? Is this the future of real estate agents? We offer some answers in this article.

Last November, the largest virtual property purchase in history took place: €2 million for a 566m2 virtual plot of land! The buyer is "Token.com", a site for investors in crypto-currencies.

What is the purpose of such a transaction? It's about selling a piece of virtual land to fashion brands so that they can showcase their new products. There is even the possibility of making a profit if the number of users of the platform explodes! Which is likely to happen.

Buying in the virtual world

"Token.com" has become the owner of the land on a virtual reality platform offering an online game where it is possible to buy or sell goods, including real estate, in a parallel world.

This world is made up of different neighbourhoods, called "metavers". This term became popular a few weeks ago thanks to the creator of Facebook, Marck Zuckerberg. He has been banking on this parallel world. His announcements have caused a real stir for everything related to the metaverse and more specifically to virtual real estate.

All real estate (land, houses, flats, etc.) is sold in the form of NFTs. These are digital, forgery-proof deeds that guarantee exclusive ownership. They also provide a history of ownership and allow the value of the property to be tracked.

The future of estate agents?

The virtual property craze is just beginning. Investors, big brands and investment funds are now speculating on this new form of real estate. They are prepared to pay huge sums of money to buy land en masse. They are banking on the fact that the value of their properties will skyrocket when everyone uses the metaverse.

That said, financial experts say that we should be very cautious about this sudden enthusiasm for virtual real estate. Some of them speak of a speculative bubble that could burst at any moment.

"Token.com is not the only one to bet on virtual real estate. Well-known brands are also starting to invest large amounts. For example, Adidas has invested €1.7 million in the purchase of 144 plots. Finally, other companies are creating their own real estate agencies in the virtual world. Perhaps this will be the future of estate agents.



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