How to buy land in the Metaverse – a beginner’s guide
The Metaverse is a trend that has defined the development of social platforms, IT industry and art for decades to come. It is not surprising that the land in the Metaverse is in such high demand. Exactly a year ago, a standard plot of land in Decentraland was sold for USD 1,000, while now the price is as high as USD 13,000 and that’s not the limit. Analysts, for example, Olivier Acuna, the Co-Founder of AdLunam, believe that metaverse land is more profitable than traditional land in 2023 already.
Buying Metaverse land right now is a very promising investment, and there is no doubt about it. The question is how to do it in the best possible conditions, because if you type something like “how much does metaverse land cost?” in the search bar, you will get millions of responses and not all of them will be relevant. Moreover, a huge number of platforms selling virtual land operate unofficially and cannot be trusted.
Therefore, Traders Union experts have created a detailed guide for buying land in the Metaverse. In this article, you will discover the reasons why it is promising to buy virtual land and property, how to make money on them and, most importantly, how to buy metaverse land with a guarantee, directly and without unjustified surcharges.
Start investing in metaverse coins right now with Binance!What is land in the Metaverse?
Technically any virtual platform, where users interact in any way, can be called a metaverse. These include social networks, messaging apps, MMORPG, projects that employ virtual reality and augmented reality. However, not every platform has land and real estate that can be traded. There is a rather big number of Metaverses that provide this option, but there are only five official ones – Decentraland, The Sandbox, Somnium, Cryptovoxels, and Upland. They are all regulated by Meta Platforms.
Why would anyone buy and sell virtual land? This land does not exist physically, only in digital space created by Meta’s high performance computers. The nuance is that business is gradually shifting from the physical world to digital space. This applies not only to online stores and marketplaces. For example, market leaders like Gucci, Nike, Coca-Cola and others already have their own land plots in the Metaverse.
How do they use them? The answer to that is limited by the imagination of the land owner. We will discuss this matter below in more detail, but large brands use their Metaverse land to implement various projects, hold shows of their new collections, promotions and corporate events, to communicate with consumers and gather feedback. Many companies have offices in the Metaverse, where their employees from all around the world can communicate as if they all were in one room.
Therefore, the Metaverse land is a conglomerate of a multitude of plots of virtual space that any person or legal entity can buy. Why is there a clear uptrend that will continue to be relevant? First, the titans like Meta, which plans to inject USD 24 billion into the project, and whose shares have already hiked 18% this year, are involved in it. Second, unlike traditional land, virtual land is limitless. Its value is not determined by its limited nature, but by yield potential. Third, virtual spaces are decentralized. In New York or Moscow, the closer the land to the city center, the more expensive it is, but there are no centers in the Metaverse – every plot of land is in the center here and you can get instant access to any of them.
Luis Carranza, Fayre CEO and Founder, predicts that the potential yield of a virtual land plot will be measured in tens of thousands of dollars. Therefore, if you are thinking of buying land in the Metaverse, now is the time to do it.
Why is Metaverse land a good investment?
The Metaverse is a good investment in itself. Grayscale is the world’s largest investment company. It is hard to even imagine how much it is investing in Meta, as the official data has not been released. However, there is open analysis by Grayscale, according to which the land in Meta Platforms will be bringing its owners a total annual yield of over USD 1 billion over the next few years, with the figure expected to continue to grow.
When contemplating whether buying metaverse land is a good investment, it is important to understand one important thing. Companies of the level of Coca-Cola do not invest in projects they cannot profit from. They would not have been industry leaders otherwise. It’s like Zuckerberg’s decision to acquire Instagram and then WhatsApp was once considered disputable. Nevertheless, the shares of Facebook, and now Meta continue to rise (although they did drop significantly right after rebranding).
Since metaverse land is decentralized and all land plots have the same properties, anybody can benefit from them. You don’t need a multi-billion business for that. Actually, you don’t need to own a business for that. Period. A 3D modeling expert can digitize real buildings and sell their models on his land in the metaverse. An artist can build a virtual art gallery and earn money by selling his works and ads (if his land is popular).
The promising nature of metaverse land lies in the fact that it is not bound by the laws of physics and, in general, by any laws. Second Life, an old project launched back in 2003, laid the foundation of the Metaverse, where Meta Platforms is growing today. By the way, Second Life still has nearly 1 million active users, even despite that the developer launched a new project Sansar with the VR headset support.
All of this convinces experts of two things. First, the Metaverse land offers truly boundless opportunities, and there are hundreds of successful cases that support this statement. Second, this is a technically simple investment option. Finally, you can simply buy virtual land and rent it out or sell at a higher price at any time. This opportunity won’t go away anywhere in the next few years, as confirmed by experts, such as Jay Gaudet, a real estate broker and Meta Platforms consultant.
Buying land in the Metaverse – a step-by-step guide
Before we answer in detail whether it is worth buying land in the Metaverse and how to do it, we need to specify the following. Any Metaverse land is a NFT, i.e. a non-fungible token. Non-fungible tokens cannot be replaced with a similar token, and they have a market value in cryptocurrency and fiat money.
A non-fungible token does not determine ownership in a legal sense; it is rather an identifier of the owner of a digital object. Since the Metaverse land does not have an equivalent in the real world, to buy and sell it as NFTs is the ideal solution, because an NFT cannot be counterfeited. By owning an NFT for a piece of land, you are the full owner of it, and under no circumstances can anyone claim this piece of land, unless you sell it. This is determined by the architecture of NFTs that exist as smart contracts.
Now, let’s take a close look at how you can buy land in the Metaverse. There are five official platforms that sell virtual land and a multitude of unofficial ones. We do not recommend working with unofficial platforms, as they do not offer the legal guarantees that Meta Platforms does. The difference between official platforms is not conceptual, therefore we will use Decentraland for our example. However, if you decide to buy land elsewhere, the algorithm will be nearly the same.
A crypto wallet is another thing. Below we will explain how to open it, deposit funds on it and use it to buy land. There are hundreds of wallets and technically the algorithm for them will be almost identical. For our example, we will use the Coinbase wallet.
Step 1 – Open a crypto wallet
On the official website of Coinbase, click Get Started in the top right corner. Follow the instructions on the screen – the system will ask you to provide your First Name, Last Name, Email and create a Password. You will receive a letter to your email; follow the link in it. Next, provide your phone number – a security code will be sent to it; you will need to enter it on the website.
After you complete registration, you will need to pass verification (go to the Account Settings and choose Verification). To complete verification you need to provide a scanned copy of your identification document or driver’s license.
You will be granted full access to the platform, as soon as the system confirms the authenticity of your documents. Deposit funds to your wallet using one of the available options – a debit/credit card, bank transfer, or electronic payment system. Note that the available deposit options vary depending on your country of residence. Deposit the amount you require to buy land in the Metaverse. Find out its price on the Decentraland website in advance.
After you transfer the required amount to your Coinbase multicurrency wallet, you will need to buy MANA in the amount you require in order to buy land in Decentraland. This Metaverse works only with MANA. Other platforms work with their own altcoins. MANA is actively traded on Coinbase and you can always find a good offer.
Step 2 – Register on Decentraland
On the official website of the platform click Start Exploring. You can download the desktop app or continue in your browser. The system will offer you two options – to play as a guest or create an account. Guests cannot buy land and their features are very limited. To register a user account, you need to connect Coinbase wallet.
You can synchronize your Decentraland account with MetaMask and WalletConnect wallets. You can also register using your email, but you will still have to connect a wallet to your account. The platform supports many popular wallets, but not all of them. You can find the list of supported wallets on the Decentraland website.
In our example, we use Coinbase wallet; follow the simple instructions on the screen; the process is automated. Next, you need to set up the avatar of your account, enter the name and accept the terms of use. The system will provide you basic training in the form of a game. We recommend that you take it in order to gain a general understanding of the platform’s features.
Step 3 – Buy land
Now you have an electronic wallet with the required amount in MANA and a user account in Decentraland. That’s enough to buy virtual land. All plots of land on this platform are the same. They are square and 16 x 16 meters in size.
In order to buy land in the Metaverse, go to your account and click My Assets, where all your land plots will be shown. Right now, you don’t have any, so click Buy Land. A second authentication in Coinbase or Decentraland may be required.
In the next window you will see the map of the Metaverse. Each square is a plot of land. Some are empty and others are owned by somebody and have infrastructure. The lands with the infrastructure are more expensive and the more popular the land, the higher its price. That’s why there is no definitive answer to the question of how much the metaverse land costs.
You can buy only the land that is highlighted with color.
Choose the land plot that you can afford, and click Bid. When the owner of the land confirms your bid, the NFT for the land will be transferred to you and you will become its full owner. Now, you will be able to see your land plot in My Assets, and you can teleport your avatar to it at any time.
Note that if you do not have MANA in your Coinbase wallet, but you do have Ethereum, you can use it to pay for your purchase. However, the conversion will be performed at a less beneficial rate than if you pay with MANA.
Examples of using the Metaverse land
As you can see, it is technically simple to buy land in the Metaverse. But that’s not even half of the battle. Then you need to understand how to earn a profit from it. Let’s review several popular options.
Resale
This is the simplest option of how to buy metaverse land and earn a profit. However, there is a nuance. Taking into account the current trends, the land price will continue to grow, but there is no guarantee that this growth will be just as significant as earlier (500% and more). Let’s say you buy metaverse land now for USD 10,000, and in a year sell it for USD 12,000. In order to earn a high profit, you will have to buy many land plots, which means you will need a lot of money. Therefore, if you expect to earn a lot, you will either have to buy a lot of land and spend a lot, or resell the land with an infrastructure built after the purchase instead of an empty plot.
Rent
It’s the same as with renting out a traditional land plot. If the virtual piece of land is empty, you won’t get much for it. However, you do have the option of renting out many plots. The plots with original objects (parks, offices) cost more. The platform does not support land rent(it can only be transferred to another user). The land in the Metaverse is rented through licensed leasing platforms. The examples of such platforms are DCLRenting, Decentraland Property Group and Metaverse.Property. You need to register there, connect your crypto wallet and synchronize your Decentraland account.
Construction
This is one of the most promising and profitable options. You can build an office, a club or a casino on your land and sell it or rent it for much more money. However, it is much better to sell the objects, which are also NFTs like your land. You can digitize real buildings and come up with unique locations, for example, fantasy gardens and castles. This, however, requires 3D modeling and rendering skills.
Marketplace
You can open a store with showcases featuring digital analogues of goods that you sell in real life on your metaverse land. It is a unique opportunity to attract customers. You can also sell your creations in NFT format – these could be paintings, songs, books, video games.
Services
You can open a brokerage company or a private adult club on your land. Technically, you can “attach” any functionality to your land. The only thing you will need is a specialist that will be able to do it. Or you can build a high-end office to host paid psychology sessions, or, say, lectures on astrophysics.
Advertising
This area is considered the one of the most promising ones along with construction. You can earn from advertising along with any other commercial activity. For example, a popular art gallery or an interesting quest will permanently attract users to your land plot. You can then freely place direct and native ads on the objects, making money on it. The more popular your land plot is, the more expensive the ads are. You can sell ads through the platform directly as well as through specialized services, such as Metaverse Architects.
Events
This is about increasing income from an already operating business rather than earning from scratch. For example, PwC, Sotheby's, JP Morgan, HSBC and other major brands hold various promotions on their land in Decentraland. It is much simpler and cheaper than to hold the same events in the real world, and you can also gather a huge number of users from all over the world. The events increase sales, but they can also involve an entertainment program, for example paid mini games.
How to sell land in the Metaverse?
A user who wants to make money on the metaverse land must be able to sell it, not just buy it. You may need to sell land in many cases, for example, if you want to get rid of the land plot (s) you have in favor of new ones with developed infrastructure that can bring you more profit. Or you just urgently need money and you decide to buy several plots at market price. Let’s review this process using the example of Decentraland.
If you have a piece of land on this platform, it means that you are a registered user and you have a connected cryptocurrency wallet.
Go to your user profile, select My Assets and you will see all your land plots. Choose the one you want to sell.
There will be the Sell button in the menu of the selected plot. Specify the price and the validity period of the lot. Click List for Sale and enter the price of the land once again.
Subsequently, on the information page of the land plot, you can click Update Price at any time and specify the new price; the lot will not be deleted.
If you haven’t sold land before, the system may ask you to perform a test transaction to make sure that the wallet is set up correctly and you can accept MANA.
As soon as someone accepts your sale offer, you will receive a notification. You can refuse to sell or agree. If you agree to sell, you will receive the price of the land in MANA and the buyer will get the NFT for land.
Note that the main menu of Decentraland has a DOCS section with detailed guides on selling land and legal documents. You can buy and sell land in this Metaverse only on its official website or the desktop app. Any other platform that offers it is a scam.
How to rent out Metaverse land?
We have already mentioned that Decentraland does not offer the land rent feature; you can only buy land in the Metaverse and then sell it or transfer it to another user. The situation is the same with other platforms. The rent option is available through third-party services, with the most popular being DCLRenting, Decentraland Property Group and Metaverse.Property. Here is a brief algorithm of actions using the example of Decentraland Property Group.
On the official website of the service, click Rent Your Land and then Get Started.
Provide your first name, last name, email and a brief commentary.
Decentraland Property Group manager will write you a letter soon.
You can talk to the manager on the phone, through Discord or select another option.
During the conversation, you will need to provide information about your land – the name and coordinates in the Metaverse.
The company will perform an appraisal and recommend the rent rate.
You can set your own rent rate, but it is better to trust the professionals.
After agreeing on the rent price, your plot will be included in the listing on Decentraland Property Group.
As soon as someone agrees to your conditions, the system will automatically transfer your land to him for temporary use.
You will receive the rent every month, minus a small fee charged by the service.
You can terminate the contract if for some reason you decided to no longer rent out your land. However, review the conditions of Decentraland Property Group and learn the nuances from the manager first.
Conclusion
Buying land in the Metaverse is a good investment. It is a fact, otherwise its price would not have been climbing and the experts would not be predicting its further growth for many years to come. The uniqueness of this phenomenon is that any person can become a landowner in the virtual world and everybody has equal rights there. You do not need to be a major brand like Gucci or a world known photographer like JR to unlock the potential of your property in the Metaverse.
If you already have a successful business, buying land in the Metaverse can certainly open new horizons for you and increase sales. However, even if you have not started your own business yet, there are many options of how you can earn money, including reselling the plot or renting it out, building functional or art objects, holding exhibitions, concerts, events, MMORPGs. You can turn your Metaverse land into a full-fledged marketplace or offer remote services. Finally, you can earn money by placing ads on your land.
Therefore, the land in the Metaverse is becoming a universal investment. It is already more beneficial to invest in it than in traditional land. Experts predict the growth of the trend, which is why if you want to buy metaverse land, don't delay making a final decision. Thanks to our article, you now know how to do it.
FAQs
What is Metaverse land?
It is a plot of the virtual space located inside of the digital realities of Meta Platforms. Land ownership is confirmed by a non-fungible token. Technically the land in the Metaverse is the NFT.
Why is Metaverse land a good investment?
Because the Metaverse concept covers the areas of IT, social interactions, economy and art, moving the points of contact between them into the virtual world. This is literally our future; the Metaverse will only grow further.
How to buy land in the Metaverse?
You can register on one of the official platforms, synchronize it with your crypto wallet, select a land plot (empty or with infrastructure) and buy it. As soon as the seller confirms the transaction, the ownership of the land will be transferred to you.
How can I earn money on Metaverse land?
You can resell it at a higher price or rent it out. Popular land plots also make good money on advertising. Also, virtual land can be turned into a digital store; it can be used to provide services (for example, hold consulting sessions).
Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
The area of responsibility of Mikhail includes covering the news of currency and stock markets, fact checking, updating and editing the content published on the Traders Union website. He successfully analyzes complex financial issues and explains their meaning in simple and understandable language for ordinary people. Mikhail generates content that provides full contact with the readers.
Mikhail’s motto: Learn something new and share your experience – never stop!
Dr. BJ Johnson is a PhD in English Language and an editor with over 15 years of experience. He earned his degree in English Language in the U.S and the UK. In 2020, Dr. Johnson joined the Traders Union team. Since then, he has created over 100 exclusive articles and edited over 300 articles of other authors.
The topics he covers include trading signals, cryptocurrencies, Forex brokers, stock brokers, expert advisors, binary options. He has also worked on the ratings of brokers and many other materials.
Dr. BJ Johnson’s motto: It always seems impossible until it’s done. You can do it.