Are You Sold on the Metaverse for Real Estate?

The metaverse is a group of online platforms where users can access different worlds, visit different places, engage in different activities and spend cryptocurrencies entirely online. As the metaverse enters the minds of the mainstream, more enterprises are exploring its possibilities and applications for brand building and future business growth.

Access to metaverse platforms is simple: first create an account, and then be immersed in the world of cryptocurrencies, with certain platforms allowing users to spend specific crypto to digitally buy products and services within the environment.

So, why are corporate real estate professionals interested in what sounds like an evolution of Habbo Hotel or the re-creation of the film ‘Ready Player One’?’ Well, last year real estate sales in the metaverse topped $500 million and are expected to double in 2022.*

Companies are beginning to invest in digital spaces and forming a digital presence for products and services – similar to ‘Halo’ brick and mortar stores with high-footfall retail locations in prime spots. The same concept, along with promotional events and digital products, are being utilized by some of the world’s biggest brands – Disney, Nike and Warner Bros to name just a few.

Some organizations are already purchasing digital land and building virtual HQs for employees and customers to access, showcase products and services, and hold meetings and workshops entered through chosen brand of VR headset. This is where the day-to-day value starts to be realized, using virtual spaces to support and supplement practical business activities.

Advice is readily available on where to buy plots of virtual land, what to create within virtual spaces, and how it can benefit employees and customers alike. This is where virtual wallets and an understanding of NFTs come into play, as the contract for your property sits on the blockchain and is stored digitally for you (but that’s an entirely different blog for another time).

Popular platforms such as Decentraland and Sandbox allow plots of land to be built upon and digital developments to be created, funded by crypto such as MANA and SAND. Enterprises are investigating how to use crypto to support business operations and develop new channels to market. Furthermore, advances in infrastructure investment, data centers and general computing is where the growth opportunity lies in the real world – imagine the energy and connectivity required to host the entire world in a digital environment, that’s a lot of investment potential.

The alternate view, and for some real concern, is around why this eco-system even exists with issues such as securing data to theft and use of digital land for unlawful activities. But for a generation who have grown up playing video games, now facing geo-political conflict and climate change, isn’t taking refuge for enrichment in a virtual place where they have always found enjoyment enticing?

Whether you see the metaverse as an exciting new field to explore, or a terrifying and confusing space in which you want no part – it’s here to stay and will certainly create disruption in ways we cannot yet fully appreciate. But with change comes fresh possibilities – whether that’s digital commercial real estate brokerage or visioning sessions via VR headsets for consulting organizations. No doubt we will see more applications and innovations open-up for real estate and employee enrichment…I’d be interested to know your take…

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*Sources: According to data from MetaMetrics Solutions: https://metametrics.co.uk/