In 2022, just about everything is virtual in one way or another, including Real Estate. Yes, you heard us! You can buy parcels of land and houses in virtual worlds, that sit in virtual reality spaces where people can socialise, play games, attend meetings and more.
It's widely known that massive corporations, brands and artists are investing in Virtual Real Estate and positioning themselves for the future of it, with more and more Australians starting to invest as well.
Curious to know more? Our Agent Andrew Cumming has first-hand experience with Virtual Real Estate and sat down with us to give us some insight into what it is all about.
How has Virtual Real Estate come about?
Virtual Real Estate has always existed but now it's becoming more of an opportunity than just a by-product of something like a video game. Facebook's flagship project 'Meta' has shed light on what is coming - A completely digital universe where people can exist as avatars. There are other virtual universes, that aren't owned by any corporations, like The Sandbox and Decentraland in which people can buy lots of digital land, in which they can then create their own virtual experiences.
Why are people buying Virtual Real Estate?
Owning Virtual Real Estate can provide the same opportunities as real property - Capital growth and ongoing return. The same supply and demand principles still apply, the more interest there is in a specific virtual universe, the higher the value of the digital lots that exist inside of it. Let's say there are 100 digital lots in a virtual universe, and a company like Disney buys 10 lots. You know that there will be interest and traffic coming through this virtual universe that you could also benefit from.
How and where do you buy it?
Virtual Real Estate is traded and represented in the form of an NFT or Non-Fungible Token. You can buy and sell them on many of the exchange platforms, with the most used platform being Opensea. On these platforms the NFT's trade for Ethereum (ETH) or other universally recognised cryptocurrencies.
Where can you get credible information about Virtual Real Estate?
There's a lot of noise and it can be overwhelming. The best method of education would be to watch videos on the subject that are being produced by reputable and non-biased creators.
Why did you decide to invest?
I have invested because I'm confident that people will eventually want to participate in these virtual universes. I think it's extremely important to acknowledge the risks before you invest, but overall, I'm optimistic about the future of the industry.
I have invested in both forms of real estate and so far, my virtual real estate has outperformed my physical property on ROI.
How could this disrupt the ‘real’ real estate market?
It's hard to imagine how it might affect real property. People will always need somewhere to live in the physical world, but in saying that - while they're spending more time in a virtual universe they may not care so much about the physical luxuries and amenities we place so much value on in today's world.
While we are experts in Brisbane Real Estate, when it comes to Virtual Real Estate and financial advice, you should consider seeking independent legal, financial, taxation or other advice to check how this information relates to your unique circumstances.
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