Ready To Make Your Move To The Metaverse? Here are 5 Steps To Purchasing Land In The Metaverse

From science fiction to reality, this is the time we live in. The extreme advancements in technology that the human race has seen in the past decade are opening new and exciting frontiers for individuals and businesses alike. One such example of these new frontiers is the metaverse platform. An increasing number of individuals and businesses are throwing themselves into the virtual worlds that make up the metaverse. With a crypto wallet and digital currency individuals are buying up digital assets in a digital world including digital real estate. Who could have imagined the rush to buy metaverse real estate and other virtual assets that is occurring as we type this very article? Well, no doubt someone did, but it’s undoubtedly still a new and immense reality for us all.

Anyone can get in on it!

Contrary to what any naysayer or technophobe may be spouting, getting into this virtual property game isn’t restricted to big business or wealthy individuals. Anyone could get in on the action and potentially experience financial gain if they invest in digital land and virtual properties. A couple of smart purchases of land in the metaverse now could easily see some investors outperform their counterparts who continue to invest only in real world land. So, this raises the question… how can we get in on it? We’ll explain how in 5 clear steps but first, we need to understand exactly what it is we are looking at buying.

Welcome to the metaverse

The metaverse as you may already know is essentially a digital version of the real world. It hosts properties, shop fronts, games, events, and NFTs. It’s fast growing and becoming a place where human beings could end up spending a lot of our time and money. It’s also a place where individuals could make, and have made, small fortunes.

What is metaverse land?

Well, simply put, it’s land in the metaverse. Typically, metaverses divide their space into several regions, even sometimes including free land, which the user is able to easily buy. It is not only available but programmable and can be bought, rented and traded using non fungible tokens (NFTs) and digital currency. Space in the metaverse is important as users can use it to create and host various experiences like playing games, brand parties, social and sporting events, and so on.

You might even ‘live’ in it one day

In a virtual world individuals may even simply want to buy virtual real estate for their virtual selves (avatars) to call home. Metaverse real estate can be unique to the metaverse land it resides in, or could even be a replica of real world environments. Looking at buying virtual land? Why not buy land right beside the Eiffel Tower? Disclaimer… land beside the Eiffel Tower could be very expensive.

Why are people buying virtual real estate in the metaverse?

The metaverse might appear crazy to someone considering purchasing real estate — so why do people already spend countless dollars on real estate in the metaverse? Although prices for these digital assets might seem expensive, many investors see potential for their metaverse land to return a substantial profit as an investment.

This isn’t just wishful thinking as the virtual world is only growing in space and number of users. In 2021, when Mark Zuckerberg changed the name for Facebook to Meta, he reportedly claimed that the metaverse is the future of the human race. His metaverse project is developing quickly and it doesn’t look like it’ll be slowing down any time soon. It will likely need to compete with a number of metaverse platforms however.

The Zuckerberg might be right…

As scary as it might sound, he could very well be on the money. Therefore, to buy land early from the most popular online platforms is an effective method of acquiring virtual land that could return a profit in the future. Perhaps jumping on the virtual real estate train now could help with buying land in the real world down the track?

How else can you use digital real estate?

Financial gain isn’t the only reason individuals are buying land in the metaverse. Individuals are looking for their own personal space to call home in the metaverse. Businesses are also looking for space to sell products or provide experiences. There are even virtual casinos popping up! Most metaverse platforms understand this market and so are providing land parcels of varying sizes and for varying uses. There are spaces for art galleries, to host events, even to create luscious virtual parks for everyone to enjoy.

How to purchase land in metaverse worlds?

Alright, now the important bit. Let’s get onto how you can purchase land in the metaverse. Getting into the metaverse land game requires completing a few steps before you can go perusing virtual plots of metaverse properties. Yes, there are dedicated real estate brokers who offer virtual real estate lending and who will help you navigate metaverse platforms, find suitable properties, and monetize virtual assets. However, buying metaverse land safe and smart isn’t an impossible learning curve for the average joe. Below is a step by step guide to your first land purchase in a virtual world. Get the champagne ready!

Step 1 – Register an account with a metaverse platform

Okay, first thing’s first, you need to create a profile on one of the big platforms that offer land NFTs and smart contracts. There are a number of centralized and decentralized metaverse platforms but we’re going to keep a complicated topic simple and stick with the easiest to use. For example, you might hop onto the Decentraland platform so that you can browse the Decentraland marketplace. Decentraland holds more than fifty percent (the highest number) of land plots amongst the four big platforms. However, instead of Decentraland, you might jump onto a competitors site such as the Sandbox marketplace or Somnium Space for example.

Whatever you choose, whether it’s the Somnium Space, Sandbox marketplace or Decentraland marketplace, these are are where you will be able to browse land NFTs and plots, and buy and sell metaverse properties. We’ll stick with Decentraland as our example for the remainder of these steps. This platform in particular allows users to send crypto money to their account and buy land directly. You can imagine all of this as making a profile on a real estate platform where you might browse physical property for sale in the real world. So, get on and make a profile.

Step 2 – Go to Decentraland marketplace

Okay, you have a profile, great start. Now you can go to Decentraland Marketplace. You can also sign up for a crypto wallet such as Metamask. To make life easier they even offer an extension for Chrome (how nice of ’em). Now, yes, Metamask is a third party platform but it makes sense that to buy digital land you’ll use digital currencies in a digital wallet. Don’t worry, your digital wallet is safe running on the blockchain.

You’ll be able to purchase MANA which is one of the top metaverse coins in the crypto world. When your Metamask wallet and account has successfully connected with the Decentraland website, you can jump in. Clicking “Start” will take you to the web page where you can begin browsing properties. You’ll find an overview displaying available plot areas highlighted in blue. You can now begin perusing the metaverse platform choosing a piece of land in the metaverse that suits you.

Step 3 – Choose the plot of land you want to buy

Ooh, here comes the hard part… making a choice! This is where we determine what plot/s of virtual land we want to buy. When hovering your mouse around the site you’ll see the metaverse land available marked in blue. You can see where the virtual land is available to buy and you can filter who sells the property and its size. You could also set other conditions for your metaverse land search like pricing, where you want it located, and more. You’ll likely end up spending hours scrolling around the map like we did…

it’s good to Consider your options carefully before you buy land

There are a number of things you might want to consider about land in the metaverse. Considering some of the points we raised earlier, you might look at how big the virtual land is, how close it is to certain city’s, and the transaction history of the land. Like NFTs on the NFT marketplace, you can view the trade and purchase history of land in the metaverse.

what’s driving your purchase?

Most importantly, you might want to consider what you are buying the land for. If it’s an investment you will likely focus on price and location. However, if it’s a place for your avatar to potentially call home in the future, you might consider metaverse lands that aren’t particularly showing price growth but that are in a location you desire. The good news is that virtual lands are in abundance and you have a lot of choice in making a choice!

Step 4 – Complete the purchase of virtual land

When you locate your desired property you should click on blue land which opens up the detailed information and “buying” or “bid” options. Now, don’t get us wrong, the land can be pricey. A recent digital developer sold his land for a total of 398,276 U.S. dollars. But, metaverse land prices depend on a number of factors such as the size of land parcels, how significant the location of the land is in real life, and some technical considerations.

We can’t give the answers from here

We can’t offer investment advice so it’ll be up to you to do some of your own research on the site and consider what your buying power is before you buy land in the metaverse. Look for average land price in certain areas and perhaps start somewhere that offers metaverse land within your price range. Then compare plot sizes and average price before you take the leap and buy metaverse land for the first time. There is consumer lending available out there but be careful, and always do your research if you consider this as an option.

Step 5 – Keep an eye on your virtual land in the metaverse

Once you buy virtual land and become the proud owner of your new ‘home’, you’ll want to keep an eye on the metaverse platform you purchased it through. If you’ve used Decentraland, then this is where you will be able to track the price of your land in the metaverse and manage your new virtual asset. Just like real life operations surrounding property and real estate, you will be able to consider selling once you’re in a profit zone, or even making a new land purchase. Whatever you need or want to do with your land, you can access services easily on the metaverse platform.

Buying more land

If you decide to buy land again, many people consider it a good idea to diversify things just like we’re told is good practice in the real world. But hey, maybe you’re onto a good thing with your first purchase and want to buy metaverse land that is similar.

What else can you buy in the metaverse?

You can do more than buy land in the metaverse. Digital real estate is only one of many digital assets you can get your hands on. There are collectible items, limited edition merchandise, artworks, games, clothes and jewellery, all typically in the form of NFTs. In the not too distant future you could be exploring the NFT marketplace for digital assets that you might use to decorate your virtual properties. Perhaps you’ll buy artworks for the walls, fixtures for the bathrooms, or clothing for your wardrobe. Maybe the returns from your first piece of virtual land will help pay for it all?

We know, it can be overwhelming

It can also be extremely exciting. Maybe you never thought you’d be able to buy land or that you’d never really use digital money. For young people all over the world, this is the reality of our expectations in the current environment of rising house prices and unstable economies in the real world. Buying land or any sort of property is slowly being considered more and more of a pipe dream by many.

Buying virtual land is doing things differently

Well guess what, you’ve done things differently and it could pay off one day. To buy land, whether in the metaverse or in the real world, is something worth celebrating. Now pop open that bottle of champagne, go on. Make sure you pour an extra one for us