How Metaverse is revolutionizing the digital real estate market in the future

The emerging concept “the metaverse” will impact every aspect of our life soon. It is melting away the barriers between the physical and virtual worlds. Even virtual real estate will no more a dream because it is modeled based on real-world real estate transactions. Keep in mind; the location has the same importance in the virtual real estate market as in real-world properties. It is the power of the Metaverse that you can bring your entire workstation to a coffee shop by just wearing AR glasses. In this AR/VR style meeting, you can interact with your colleagues in the way you interact in the physical world. For instance, you can see each other’s faces.

You can hear each other’s voices. A sense of presence and ability to understand expressions and body language will also be there. Several companies, including Google, Apple, and Facebook, have been working on contact lenses, headsets, and digital glasses to bring Metaverse to your life. So, Metaverse is not a space where you would go, but it’s a space you would add to your real life as augmented reality. For instance, Epic Games Inc. hosted a concert within their Fortnite video game in the pandemic. Similarly, Roblox Corp. used the virtual world to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Gucci, a designer brand. So, enjoying real-life experiences with Metaverse is fun.

But do you know what Metaverse is? When did it come into existence? How will it change everything? In this article, we will discuss everything about Metaverse.

What is Metaverse?

The Metaverse is an emerging topic of discussion in tech and crypto circles. It is a virtual space where people can interact and represent their authentic selves using avatars. In the real estate industry, virtual properties are vacant structures representing original creation and real-world properties. On the metaverse platform, people can also use digital collectibles to decorate their spaces.

Gaming spaces are the best representation of the metaverse spaces. But now, social media sites are also moving towards the Metaverse to make the interactions with others more real. Facebook is an example of such a transition that planned to invest around $10 billion this year. Approximately 10,000 people from European Union will help Facebook to accomplish this goal.

In an interview, Mark Zuckerberg said

“You can think about the Metaverse as an embodied internet, where instead of just viewing content, you are in it.”

Brief Background / History

The term “metaverse” is not as new as we think. Neal Stephenson, a fiction novel writer, was the first person to use this term in his book “Snow Crash” in 1992. He used this term to describe the virtual world where people can get real-life experiences using their avatars.

After that, Ernest Cline used this word for virtual oasis in his novel “Ready Player One.” However, the “metaverse economies” started in 2003 after the launch of online video games. In metaverse economies, users can use the in-game Linden dollars for trading. Moreover, Metaverse has also made virtual real estate a reality.

Recent Expansion

The journey of the Metaverse has just started. However, its success demands development on the practical side. It should be realistic enough to give real-life experiences even if it’s not. People should be unable to distinguish if they are hanging out in the virtual world or real life.

It was due to these genuine experiences that Metaverse was just fiction until now. Moreover, the technology was not fast enough to provide these real-life experiences. The recent expansion in the Metaverse is due to technological developments such as digital currencies, graphics processing, NFTs (non-fungible tokens and 5G/Gigabit WiFi.

Nvidia, a predominant graphics processing company, has recently collaborated with “Unreal,” a game engine. The collaboration aims to create a photorealistic Metaverse. Moreover, Omniverse has also been used to develop the digital twins of BMW’s assembly plants.

How Metaverse is changing everything, especially the real estate industry

The Metaverse has changed everything. Soon there will be days when the digital and real worlds will be no more different in e-commerce and social aspects. The Metaverse is already in the roots of real estate. Numerous platforms are already using the Metaverse to sell, buy, invest, and trade real estate. Such platforms include Upland, Cryptovoxels, Somnium space, The Sandbox, and Decentraland. Decentraland claims to be the first fully online virtual world. They use smart contracts to create and trade virtual products. On the Decentraland marketplace, you can buy virtual accessories and clothes. Moreover, buying and selling the land estates and parcels is also accessible on this platform.

Virtual shopping is no more a myth

With the advent of the Metaverse, non-fungible tokens start making sense. You can display your original products, attract buyers, and share them on social media to make sales in the physical world. On the other hand, a digital shop is different. In a digital shop, you will have to display your product in the digital house. It will help the digital buyers to see your product. Even a digital art museum is another great benefit of the Metaverse.

People can pay a monthly fee in crypto to see beautiful art pieces virtually. You might be wondering how is all this possible? How can you pay the fee virtually? Well, crypto punks act as your avatar in the Metaverse. You might have seen the crypto punks on Twitter that account for thousands of dollars. To sum up, people with only limited avatars can enjoy the Metaverse to the fullest.

First metaverse REIT

In recent months, digital properties are getting popular. New participants are getting into the Metaverse and considering it for the casinos, virtual shops, office spaces, and showrooms. Several companies are known as real estate investment trusts, “REITs” either own or finance the different real estate types. All real estate companies can’t be REITs. A company is REIT ONLY if it meets a specific set of requirements. REITs mainly trade through significant stock exchanges. One such REIT is a Toronto-based company “Tokens.com.” They offer the opportunity to invest in digital assets. You can sign a letter of intent to buy a 50% stake in the digital real estate portfolio.

All the properties in the real estate portfolio are owned by the Metaverse group and named Metaverse REIT. This metaverse investment trust is emerging as a leading investment company. In a press release, Kiguel said

“We see Metaverse Group as being a significant landowner and developer in the digital world with the ability to payout distributions in a REIT structure.”

Digital Worlds Based on Real-World Locations

Virtual real estate is emerging fast. But recently, a project combined virtual real estate and real-world maps to bring something new to virtual real estate. This project is recognized as ZIQ. It is a metaverse world where the trading of virtual real estate based on 3D maps in real-time is now possible. In ZIQ, one can own real estate property through ZIQ tokens. One ZIQ token means one tile that you can implement in 30 square meters. For instance, the Korean region launched on October 28, 2021, has 112 million tiles. ZIQ token has many benefits for investors:

It offers 30% instant profit through forced trading

It offers 20% interest staking to anyone who holds at least 10,000 tiles.

Users can also buy a non-fungible token with ZIQ tokens.
One can also purchase 3D virtual real estate objects with ZIQ tokens.

Conclusion

Metaverse is the latest approach and is still in its infancy. But due to its higher potential, companies are investing billions of dollars in technologies that could power the new virtual world. Such companies understand that it’s only the technological developments that can help the Metaverse grow. Moreover, technological advancements are also essential to bring a realistic user experience in this virtual world. To sum up, a metaverse has the potential to create experiences similar to the physical environment, and it would continue to grow indefinitely.