A Dubai property brokerage plans to sell the region's first “metaverse mansions”, where buyers can own a non-fungible token (NFT) with and without the bricks and mortar asset.
The digital mansions will enable buyers to view their properties in augmented reality, Union Square House (USH) said in a statement on Monday.
The brokerage is looking to capitalise on Dubai's “high level of familiarity” with the virtual world, it said.
“Our foray into the metaverse stems from our strong belief in a prevalent virtual world that is set to transform many sectors, top of which is real estate,” said Gaurav Aidasani, founder and managing director of USH.
“In futuristic cities like Dubai, which thrives on a predominantly young generation, people understand the value and potential of digital assets.
“We believe digital real estate has already gone mainstream. Lenders are even offering mortgages to support customers in buying virtual properties. All these developments give momentum to digital properties, presenting investors in the metaverse with an opportunity to multiply the value of their virtual assets,” he said.
The company is aiming to launch the first set of NFTs in July and only ultra-luxury properties will be sold, with a focus on “micro markets such as The Palm Jumeirah, Emirates Hills, District One, Dubai Hills Estates and others”, a USH representative told The National.
While the project will start in Dubai, the company plans to expand to Abu Dhabi and other major cities, he said.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is a digital space where participants, represented by three-dimensional digital representations, avatars, interact.
In other words, it is an online equivalent of a person in a virtual world, performing interacting and transacting.
Payments in the metaverse are made using cryptocurrencies, built on blockchain.
No one owns the metaverse, not Meta (formerly Facebook), even if it named itself as such.
Like the internet, there is no defined owner and the metaverse can be expanded under internationally-adopted regulations.
Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg estimates the metaverse will reach fruition in five to 10 years.
How big is the property market in the metaverse?
Property sales on the four major metaverse platforms reached $501 million in 2021 and are expected to double this year, according to MetaMetric Solutions.
The size of the metaverse real estate market is expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 31.2 per cent during 2022-2028, Brandessence research said.
In February, what was thought to be the world's first metaverse mansion was put on sale in the form of Hampton Hall in England.
Developer Stately Homes aims to build the 11-bedroom property for the market at £29 million ($40m), on a half-hectare plot in the gated Crown Estate in Surrey. The precise location is up for negotiation.
Whomever buys the house in reality will be offered first refusal on its digital blueprint in the form of an NFT.
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
