How to buy Real Estate in the Metaverse

2022-03-04, 04:39

[TL; DR]

In the metaverse people can attend music concerts, conferences or carry out other business activities.
People can purchase virtual real estate on the metaverse’s platform or third party marketplaces.
Decentraland and SandBox are some of the leading metaverse platforms where people can buy virtual land.
Traders can buy mainstream cryptocurrencies using credit cards and bank transfers at Gate.io.

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Although the Metaverse is a new concept, it has taken the world by storm due to its perceived benefits. As a result, there is high demand for virtual real estate leading to an increase in its price. Since people anticipate tangible transformation in the way we do business and interact in the very near future, many are already acquiring virtual real estate.

What is the metaverse?

The metaverse is the next generation of social interaction which depends on virtual real estate and non-fungible tokens. In the metaverse people can go to music concerts, attend virtual meetings and carry out various business activities. Also, people interact with each other while in the form of cartoon-like characters referred to as avatars.

Although, currently, people access these worlds using computers and other electronic devices, in the future they are likely to interact in 360 degrees immersive worlds using advanced technologies which include virtual reality goggles and headsets. Put differently, the metaverse relates to the digitalization of the real world through virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality technologies as well as videos.

The virtual real estate

For future reference, it is important to note that virtual real estate is also called the metaverse land or virtual land. This virtual real estate is a piece of land, identifiable by its dimensions stated in X and Y coordinates. Although the virtual land is three dimensional, the key measurements are its length and width. This is because there is no limit to its height as it is infinitely high.

Upon paying for the virtual land, the buyer gets an NFT which represents that piece of land. Still, the landowner can resell his/her land by disposing of the related NFT. This is because the NFT is the proof of ownership of the virtual real estate and is recorded on the blockchain.

Use cases of the virtual land

Many people, not yet conversant with the metaverse, wonder why virtual land is important. Well, the metaverse land functions in different ways. The land owners can use their land for holding conferences, meetings, socializing, work and gaming.

People can also rent out the land, thereby generating revenue from it. In addition to this, individuals can sell their land to those who need it. And they most likely gain from the appreciation of the land over time. As you can tell, other people hold the land for speculative purposes. If a person holds land from an NFT game, he/she will earn in-game assets which he/she can sell, thus generating income.

Some people may choose to build houses on the land, which they can use as museums or art galleries where people will be able to showcase their artworks.

Ways to buy land

There are three broad ways in which people buy virtual land. They can purchase the land in the metaverse platform’s marketplace, through real estate agents or third party marketplaces.

Metaverse Platform
The various metaverse platforms that sell land have their internal marketplaces where you can purchase the plots. Despite the fact that the formats of the marketplaces vary, they provide almost similar information about a piece of land. The basic information is its coordinates on the map of the metaverse.

The other important information you get about the land is its asking price, potential uses and the location. For example, the information shows you where the plot is situated in relation to sites such as business districts, popular places and roads.

Third party marketplaces
People can buy metaverse real estate from different third party marketplaces. Some popular NFT marketplaces are OpenSea and Non-Fungible.com. They sell the virtual land on behalf of the metaverse entities such as Decentraland and SandBox.

Buying from third party marketplaces gives you the chance to select the best land possible. This is because such marketplaces provide you with updated information about the land. Such information is very important as it narrows the buyer’s room for making inconclusive decisions.

More importantly, such marketplaces provide the transaction history of the land as well as information about the adjacent plots. Nevertheless, it is important to note that there are no two pieces of virtual land which are identical, that is why their prices are usually different.

Real estate agents
The third way in which the land seekers can purchase the plots is through the virtual real estate agents. These agents help investors to find the best metaverse parcels for their projects. The same individuals can help to find buyers or renters for the virtual lands. The best tip for now, if you need the agent, is to find someone in your country whom you can meet physically and make the transactions.

How to buy metaverse land

So far, we have discussed the major aspects related to the purchase, sale and trading of virtual land. Now we want to look closely on the process of purchasing a piece of land on a metaverse platform. Here are the steps to follow:

Step 1: Select the best metaverse platform
So, choosing the metaverse platform is the first step if you want to buy a piece of land. By the way, Sandbox and Decentraland are among the leading metaverse platforms which sell land either through their platforms or third party marketplaces.

Step 2: Set up your digital wallet
Generally, there are few cryptocurrencies you can use to buy virtual land. However, you need the wallet to store the cryptocurrency which you will use. You can use either a mobile or web-based wallet, depending on your preferences. The common wallets you can use include Metamask and Trust Wallet. However, you have to check if the wallets are compatible with the metaverse platform you intend to use.

Step 3: Connect you wallet to the metaverse platform
Before you bid on any one of the pieces of land you have to connect your wallet to the platform. Let’s illustrate how to connect your wallet at SandBox. To start, click on “Sign In.”

This gives you the option to connect your Metamask wallet. Therefore, click on Metamask.

From this point, follow a few self-explanatory instructions until you find the option, “Connect.” This is the final stage to connect your Metamask wallet.

Step 4: Select the piece of land
Once you have connected your Metamask wallet and your account is ready and funded, you can select the piece of land you want to buy. Still, you have two options at this point, either to bid or to pay using ETH. Depending on your preferred method, you can click the “Bid” button or the displayed ETH amount.

Step 5: Confirm your purchase
The last step is to confirm the purchase. Once that is done, you will receive your land NFT.

Where to buy ETH and NFTs

As we have discussed above, when you want to buy metaverse land you need to have ETH or other tokens such as SAND and MANA. One of the best platforms to buy these coins or tokens is Gate.io.

It is very easy to buy cryptocurrencies such as ETH, MANA and SAND. The trader should visit Gate.io and go to the Spot Trading section. Here, people can use the mainstream cryptocurrencies like BTC, USDT, USD Coin and Solana to trade for any token of their choice. For example, they can convert BTC to MANA, ETH or SAND.

People can also buy the mainstream cryptocurrencies such as ETH, BTC and USDT using credit cards. To do so, the individual should visit the “Buy Crypto” section on Gate.io. He or she should then select “Credit Card” and make the transaction. Alternatively one can buy cryptocurrencies using bank transfer.

As for NFTs, people can buy or sell them on Gate.io through the NFT Magic Box. There are many NFTs which include OpenPunks, Losercoin, MasterHornClub and Supe Infinity.

Conclusion

The metaverse is the future of human interaction on the internet. This is the reason why many people are purchasing virtual lands where they can set their platforms for interactions. However, some people buy, hold and sell their land NFT to make profit.

Author: Mashell. C, Gate.io Researcher
This article represents only the views of the researcher and does not constitute any investment suggestions.
Gate.io reserves all rights to this article. Reposting of the article will be permitted provided Gate.io is referenced. In all cases, legal action will be taken due to copyright infringement