These days, the metaverse is becoming an increasingly popular topic of conversation. Referred to by Tech Target as “the next evolution of the Internet,” the metaverse is the concept of blending the virtual world with reality.
So what’s in store for real estate and the metaverse? The Observer recently published an article highlighting how two real estate firms are paving their way in the digital world.
Everyrealm, a digital real estate firm, and The Alexander Team, a real estate firm that represents high-profile clients and made the largest U.S. residential sale in 2019, are launching an exclusive, invitation-only master-planned metaverse community called The Row. Slated to launch this year, The Row will “display virtual architecture designed by renowned artists, which only members owning the correct non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will have access to,” according to the article.
The Row isn’t Everyrealm’s first go-round with the metaverse. According to the Observer, in 2021, they “launched a series of virtual islands in the first-ever master-planned metaverse community. Called Fantasy Islands, the metaverse land has sold for nearly $400,000 on the secondary market, according to a press release from the company.”
In a recent CNN article titled, “Pixel pushers: How the metaverse became real estate's new frontier,” George Bileca, CEO of Voxel Architects, which has designed and built more than 100 projects in the metaverse, states the initial design process for building in the metaverse is the same as building in the real world. “An architect or designer consults with a client, and sketches ideas, either on paper or computer. Once a design is agreed upon, it is 3D-modeled, using traditional design software, but conforming to the design spec of the metaverse it will populate (different metaverses use different building blocks, and have different texture and color ranges).”
At Alosant, we strive to stay ahead of the curve to provide the real estate industry with next-generation PropTech solutions that provide developers with a competitive edge in the continuously evolving residential real estate market. We recently worked with Runway, the leading software solution provider for the Australian and U.S. home builder and property development sector to create an unprecedented, mobile-first home shopping experience for prospective buyers.
As a part of its industry-leading technological initiatives, the company just launched Runway Metaverse, which helps developers transform their undeveloped communities into a fully immersive 3D metaverse for homebuyers to actively explore. Homebuyers can walk down yet-to-be-developed streets and view future homes, accurately placed on each lot, complete with realistic landscaping. This technology accelerates the process of matching a property with a buyer, brings the consumer closer to making a more confident, informed decision and reduces cancellation rates and buyer’s remorse.
As virtual world’s continue to come to fruition and digital forms of payment such as NFTs increase in popularity, we are sure to see more developers and real estate firms creating spaces in the metaverse.
