In 2021, a flow of cash from tech enthusiasts and corporate marketers fore up real estate prices in the metaverse.-coiAltn owners and CryptoPunk NFT collectors with stars in their eyes and cash in their pockets looked to justify soaring prices by buying properties near those of celebrities, many were using metaverse for promotional purposes.
Snoop Dogg, a high-profile example, built a digital copy of his Southern California mansion in the middle of the Sandbox metaverse, calling the 144-parcel square the Snoopverse. Snoop’s virtual neighbors include the mega-DJ Steve Aoki and a handful of massive Atari developments, where visitors can play the company’s games and attend events. Record-setting purchases hit headlines soon after this.
P-Ape, spent $450,000 on a nine-parcel property right next door to the Long Beach rapper. Prices skyrocketed in start of this year, but a crypto bear market and slower-than-expected metaverse adoption have ravaged prices, down 85% since January, and purchase volume, which has almost vanished.
P-Ape’s parcel could now be worth barely $25,000, though having Uncle Snoop as a neighbor likely provides a small boost. A digital map of the Sandbox shows dozens of properties for sale.
“Metaverse investments are risky. There’s a very high likelihood that you’re going to lose everything,” says Fabian Schär, a professor at the University of Basel and the managing director at the school’s Center for Innovative Finance.
Some businesses have benefited from using short-term rentals instead of purchasing metaverse property. Companies like Sugarman’s Metaverse Group rent land and have a team of developers to build out their tenants view.
“There needs to be other tools and different experiences to make the metaverse more interesting, and that will drive traffic,” Sugarman says. “As there’s more understanding and more learning, we believe that critical mass will happen.”
This news is published and verified by the NFT News media team.
