Metaverse is a step towards the digitalisation of the real world through a combination of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and video. The virtual universe allows users to work, play and stay connected with friends in the virtual world through their digital avatars. From holding a conference to taking a trip around the virtual world, there are plenty of things to do in the metaverse.

But what seems to be catching investors' fancy is real estate. The number of property deals in the metaverse has been making headlines with record million-dollar transactions reported every other week.

To buy property in the virtual world, you need to sign up with a metaverse platform, like Decentraland, The Sandbox, Axie Infinity, among others. All you need to transact in the metaverse is a well-funded digital wallet. You can convert your dollars to cryptocurrencies like ether or native currencies of the metaverse you are dealing in like MANA or Sandbox and store them in your digital wallet.

With the help of the almost complete ecosystem offered by the metaverse, you can buy, rent, flip, or even sell properties in the digital world and ownership is through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) title.

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Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can buy real estate in the metaverse.

Step 1

Visit the property marketplaces of the metaverse, such as Decentraland, Axie Infinity or Sandbox, and log in on the platform.

Step 2

Browse from the various available pieces of land and compare their pricing.

Step 3

Once you have selected the digital piece of land that you wish to buy, click on the same to read more about it. Here, it is important to remember that a particular metaverse property platform would only allow you to make a purchase from their platform by using their approved cryptocurrency. For example, Decentraland only allows users to buy and sell properties using MANA, a cryptocurrency created by Decentraland itself.

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Step 4

The next step is to link your digital wallet to your property platform account. For this, you would first need to get yourself a compatible digital wallet. Metamask is the by far the most popular digital wallet available in the market today. It is compatible with almost every property platform in the metaverse.

Step 5

It is important to fund your digital wallet with a cryptocurrency that is compatible with the digital property platform chosen by you. You can easily purchase the same through many exchanges and store the cryptos safely in your digital wallet. After you are done selecting the land and funding your linked digital wallet, all you must do is press the ‘buy’ button.

Step 6

Once you complete the transaction, the piece of digital land purchased by you is stored in the form of NFTs in your linked digital wallet. You can view your acquired land under the ‘NFTs’ tab in your digital wallet.

What you must remember before buying property in the metaverse

Unlike investing in the property market in the real world, where your acquired physical land really exists, the digital land in the metaverse will become non-existent if the platform that you bought the land from fails and goes offline. The other point you must keep in mind is the high volatility associated with the cryptocurrencies used to transact in the property market in the metaverse. As the valuation of the digital currency is not stable, the valuation of the property you own in the metaverse fluctuates proportionally as well.

Also, investing in digital real estate is a fairly new asset class, hence, there are many aspects to it that are still unexplored. Investing in the digital real estate market in the metaverse is highly speculative in nature and it is advisable to research well on the pros and cons before making any investments.

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(Edited by : Yashi Gupta)