Insider Advice
Virtual Realty Forget Toronto’s next hot neighbourhood. What if your next property investment took place in a virtual world? With buyers flocking to the metaverse, it’s a close reality.
If all of that sounds like a feverish sci-fi fantasy, consider that one plot of such “land” recently sold for the equivalent of $4.3 million USD. Virtual real estate sales in the so-called metaverse are projected to top $1 billion in 2022, and the value of metaverse properties is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 31 percent per year over the next six years—that’s three percent more than Toronto’s searing hot market, which saw average home prices soar 28 percent year-over-year for February 2022. magine donning a headset to scope out a parcel If the idea of shelling millions for property that of land for sale in a virtual city where buildings you can’t physically stand on sounds puzzling to —designed by real-life famous architects— you, you’re not alone. “The Jetsons seems more loom over the skyline. Luxury brands, art true to life than this,” says Lisa Clarke, agent with galleries and major investment banks have The Richards Group. “You’re not going to actually set up shop in your neighbourhood. And there’s a live in this virtual world and sit in your virtual 24/7 street party going on, with the avatars of hun- house, but this is going to take the way we interact dreds of thousands of global users milling around to a new level.” and decking themselves out with Nike, Gucci, Fans of the metaverse—meaning a fully realized Burberry and Louis Vuitton accessories bought digital world beyond the one we live in—say it’s via cryptocurrency-backed tokens. hard to underestimate the potential of a totally
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EastTO Magazine
