The Medieval Plaza in the online Decentraland game. The Republic Realm Digital Real Estate Fund will buy virtual land in online worlds created by game developers and develop it into vuirtual hotels and other properties. Image courtesy of Decentraland
The Medieval Plaza in the online Decentraland game. The Republic Realm Digital Real Estate Fund will buy virtual land in online worlds created by game developers and develop it into vuirtual hotels and other properties. Image courtesy of Decentraland
The Medieval Plaza in the online Decentraland game. The Republic Realm Digital Real Estate Fund will buy virtual land in online worlds created by game developers and develop it into vuirtual hotels and other properties. Image courtesy of Decentraland
The Medieval Plaza in the online Decentraland game. The Republic Realm Digital Real Estate Fund will buy virtual land in online worlds created by game developers and develop it into vuirtual hotels an

Fund set up to invest in booming 'virtual land' market


  • English
  • Arabic

(Bloomberg) -- Investors may not be clamoring to buy offices and hotels right now, but in virtual reality, property deals are surging and attracting millions of real-life dollars.

It was inevitable, then, that someone would start a fund.

Republic Real Estate, a firm that’s raising money to buy distressed condos in the physical world, is launching an invite-only fund next week aimed at investors seeking to buy virtual land. The venture plans to purchase parcels across several online “metaverses” and develop them into virtual hotels, stores and other uses, with the goal of increasing their value among cryptocurrency enthusiasts.

The minimum investment in the Republic Realm Digital Real Estate Fund is $25,000.

“Real-world real estate is very uncertain now,” said Janine Yorio, head of Republic Real Estate. “Housing prices are at an all-time high. Meanwhile, offices are empty, hotels are empty. This feels insulated from a lot of those real-world risks.”

Plots sell daily in online worlds such as Decentraland, a virtual place with its own economy, currency and social events calendar, accessible to anyone with a web browser. And values for such assets are multiplying.

This year through to March 15, the average price paid per parcel in Decentraland was $2,703 – more than triple what it was in 2020, according to NonFungible.com, which tracks the sales. Land prices quadrupled in the metaverse called Cryptovoxels, from $821 a parcel last year to $3,895 in the first two and half months of 2021.

The most expensive deal ever recorded came in February, when eight lots sold for a combined $1.5 million on the gaming platform Axie Infinity, according to NonFungible.

“There is obviously some fear-of-missing-out phenomenon behind this,” Gauthier Zuppinger, chief operating officer at NonFungible, said in an email. “The best, rarest places are almost all purchased. The secondary market shows that the first buyers sell their assets for way more than the initial price.”

Each land parcel is a non-fungible token, or NFT – a unique asset that can’t be forged or replicated, just like physical land in the real world.

The value of online real estate rises as more people buy digital art or other collectibles and need a place to showcase them, according to Zuppinger. Many artists and designers also are turning to the virtual world to host what they create, as consumers spend more time there, Ms Yorio said.

And for a real estate investor, that means there’s value in owning well-trafficked space.

Republic, which used its own money to buy more than 30 parcels across four metaverses, is in talks with a real-life hospitality brand that is looking to co-develop a hotel and bar on one of those sites, Ms Yorio said. The lodging firm would collaborate on the virtual hotel design, and pay Republic to develop it.

Like swanky hotels in physical cities, the site would ideally become a well-regarded gathering place – which then draws other retailers and developers to pay up for parcels nearby.

“Buying land today in virtual worlds may end up feeling a lot like buying land in Manhattan in the 1750s,” Ms Yorio said. “There is massive growth ahead, and now is the time to get in on the ground floor.”

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

The biog

Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly 

Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo

Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.

Favourite music: classical Arabic music such as Um Khalthoum and Abdul Wahab,

She loves the beach and advises her clients to go for meditation.

While you're here
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Specs

Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric

Range: Up to 610km

Power: 905hp

Torque: 985Nm

Price: From Dh439,000

Available: Now

The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh960,000
Engine 3.9L twin-turbo V8 
Transmission Seven-speed dual-clutch automatic
Power 661hp @8,000rpm
Torque 760Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 11.4L / 100k

MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW

Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman

Director: Jesse Armstrong

Rating: 3.5/5

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20WallyGPT%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2014%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESaeid%20and%20Sami%20Hejazi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%247.1%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2020%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%20round%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS

6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner Dubai Future, Harry Bentley (jockey), Saeed bin Suroor (trainer).

7.05pm UAE 1000 Guineas Listed $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m

Winner Dubai Love, Patrick Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m

Winner: Equilateral, James Doyle, Charles Hills.

8.15pm Al Bastakiya Trial Conditions $100,000 (D) 1.900m

Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.

9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m

Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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Tips for taking the metro

- set out well ahead of time

- make sure you have at least Dh15 on you Nol card, as there could be big queues for top-up machines

- enter the right cabin. The train may be too busy to move between carriages once you're on

- don't carry too much luggage and tuck it under a seat to make room for fellow passengers

ANDROID%20VERSION%20NAMES%2C%20IN%20ORDER
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.