For the past two years, resort real estate markets like Aspen-Snowmass have experienced unprecedented demand for real estate as people around the country sought refuge from the effects of the COVID pandemic. At the same time, technologies like Zoom have made working remotely outside a traditional office more acceptable and productive. Resort areas like Aspen-Snowmass that offer an outdoor quality of life and world-class recreational opportunities have been popular destinations. If you’re interested in real estate investing, there’s a new world that’s on the verge of exploding, driven by many of these factors that evolved from the pandemic. It’s called the metaverse and it’s already being embraced by large tech companies like Microsoft, Disney, Apple and Facebook, which recently changed its name to Meta.
Speaking broadly, the metaverse is the merger of two concepts that have been around for quite some time: virtual reality and a digital second life. While the concept of a metaverse has been tossed around in the science fiction realm for decades, it has now become a reality. Essentially, the metaverse is a connection of multiple 3-D virtual worlds that are all focused on virtual connection. In the next few years, the metaverse could change the way people interact with each other, and that’s why so many large companies are starting to take notice.
In addition to the enhanced social-interaction aspect of the metaverse, there are some tangible aspects that have recently become popular. Over the last decade, technology has transformed the physical real estate industry. Now, it’s possible to buy real estate in the virtual world of the metaverse. Global investment bank JP Morgan says “the metaverse will likely infiltrate every sector in some way in the coming years, with the market opportunity estimated at over $1 trillion in yearly revenues.” Last month, JP Morgan set up a meeting lounge in Decentraland, a blockchain-based metaverse platform. Other companies like Walmart, Nike, Gap, Verizon, Hulu, PWC, Adidas and Atari are also staking out metaverse real estate for virtual showrooms and information centers for people to view products, get information and interact with others spending time in the metaverse.
The metaverse already has multiple marketplaces where users can buy and sell virtual real estate in much the same way the physical world has multiple places and locations around the world to buy, sell and own real estate. In addition to the presence of these virtual real estate marketplaces, each platform has variations in the way available metaverse real estate listings are formatted. However, virtually every platform where you can buy and sell real estate does have listing prices of property listed in the metaverse, the coordinates of the property on the metaverse’s map, and a general idea of where the property is located in relation to businesses, roads, popular sites, virtual mass transit, and other amenities. In that sense, metaverse real estate listings are very similar to their traditional counterparts.
In addition to the marketplaces that are available in some metaverses, there are also a couple third-party marketplaces that allow you to buy and sell metaverse real estate. Non-Fungible.com and OpenSea are currently two popular third-party platforms. Much like the built-in marketplaces, these third-party platforms allow you to view properties that are presently for sale, while also allowing you to look at properties from more than one metaverse at any given time.
If you’re interested in buying real estate in the metaverse, there aren’t a lot of real estate agents who work within the metaverse, but they do exist. The handful of metaverse real estate agents will work with investors to help them make an informed decision about a potential property purchase. If you happen to be one of the early pioneers that already own a piece of property in the metaverse, these metaverse Realtors can help you find buyers or renters for your space. Essentially, they can provide any of the services that a traditional Realtor can offer. However, you should be choosy about who you work with, especially since there are no licensing requirements.
As the metaverse continues to grow and evolve, the opportunity to take part in real estate transactions within it will continue to grow as well. You may want to buy a home or office in the metaverse to hold business meetings and entertain your friends in what many think will be the next evolution of human interaction. Think of it as a virtual 3-D Zoom meeting location. Real estate investments, be they physical or virtual, appreciate based on supply and demand. As real estate investors, metaverse real estate may offer some interesting investment opportunities. Just like the right URL addresses in the internet world have become highly valued, certain metaverse real estate properties could become highly valued as well. Like evolving technologies in the past, the metaverse could become the next boom real estate market.
Lori and William Small, CCIM are recognized luxury and commercial real estate experts with Coldwell Banker Mason Morse in Aspen. They can be found through their website theSmallsaspen.com or by email at [email protected].
