Most Expensive Land in the Metaverse

Virtual land trading has already generated millions in sales volume

A piece of NFT land in a virtual world is a hot commodity at the moment, as investors and opportunists want a piece of the metaverse. Land sometimes goes for hundreds of thousands of dollars, depending on the popularity of the virtual world and the size of the land. We look at some of the most expensive hot spots in the metaverse.

In this article, we will look at some of the different virtual worlds. We spot the reasons for high land value and tell you about the most significant sales.

The most expensive land sales in Web3 metaverse worlds so far

As projects innovation and market speculation vary, interest in virtual real estate also does. Since 2021, we’ve seen millions of dollars invested in these blockchain-backed digital assets. Celebrities like Snoop Dogg and huge brands like Atari have publicly jumped on board the metaverse gold rush, which seems to be on the way to becoming a store of value type of investment.

Take a look at the list with some of the most expensive land sales in virtual worlds until the time of writing.

1. The Sandbox: 24×24 Estate Land, 30 November 2021, $4.3M, 971 ETH
2. Decentraland: Fashion Street Estate, 22 November 2021, $2.4M, 618K MANA
3. Axie Infinity: Genesis land, 24 November 2021, $2.33M, 550 ETH
4. Otherside: Otherdeed #59906, 8 May 2022, $1.57M, 625 ETH
5. Axie Infinity: 9 Genesis plots, 8 February 2021, $1.5M, 888 ETH
6. Decentraland: Plein Plaza, 3 February 2022,  $1.32M, 510K MANA
7. Axie Infinity: 2x Genesis land, 8 July 2021, $1.29M, 569 ETH
8. Decentraland: Hacker City, 20 January 2022, $1.19M, 425K MANA
9. Otherside: Otherdeed #17164, 12 May 2022, $1.14M, 604 WETH
10. Decentraland: Massive Genesis Plaza Estate, 29 November 2021, $1.08M, 210K MANA

Most expensive lands per metaverse world

Decentraland

By the end of 2021, we’ve seen virtual real estate in Decentraland sell for millions of dollars.

In Decentraland, three aspects influence the value of land: its size, its proximity to popular hot spots, and whether it’s next to a road.

The biggest sales have been for estates, which are basically a bunch of land parcels bundled together. The most expensive land purchases in Decentraland’s metaverse world have been:

The Sandbox

Ever since 2021, The Sandbox has been at the center of Web3 metaverse world discussions. While the game world isn’t fully fleshed out yet, its Alpha seasons have been great successes, and the project has seen remarkable land sales every year until now.

Valuation of land in The Sandbox has thus far been based on the size of the estate and the proximity to recognizable brands or communities. The idea is that players will hop from one location to the other, and therefore big lands and brands will attract foot traffic. For example, we’ve seen users pay thousands of dollars to have land next to Snoop Dogg’s virtual mansion.

The most expensive land purchases have been:

Otherdeed for the Otherside

One of the most recent but also the most promising virtual worlds in Web3 is the Otherside metaverse, by Yuga Labs. Coming from the Bored Ape Yacht Club ecosystem, this metaverse world had a strong community even before launching.

The Otherdeeds, lands on the Otherside, have seen a much lower price fluctuation than other Yuga Labs blue-chip NFTs, such as Mutant Ape YC. Landowners can now decouple their the land items from the actual land plot.  The most expensive Otherdeed purchases have been:

Somnium Space

Compared with Decentraland, Somnium Space is more advanced, but also more complex. Somnium Space supports VR headsets and body movements. Really advanced stuff. This makes getting into Somnium Space a bit more complex, which is something the developers are trying to improve.

In Somnium Space there are various attributes to influence the value of land. Of course, size is important, but more characteristic is whether the land is adjacent to a road and has a view of the lake. There are parcels in Somnium Space that have their land connected to the lake, allowing landowners to build a dock.

The most expensive land purchases have been:

Voxels, formerly known as Cryptovoxels

The next virtual world we will explore is Voxels. In the virtual worlds users can build anything they want, and the team still regularly mints new pieces of land. However, the most wanted land is in Origin City, the center of the Voxels world. Because that’s where newcomers spawn. Furthermore, the Frankfurt district is known for having the highest land parcels in the virtual world, giving the district an edge over the competition.

Land in Cryptovoxels has a width, depth and height, each determining its value. Odd-sized parcels with low height tend to sell a bit cheaper. Outside of the center of the world, bigger parcels and parcels located next to the water go for a premium.

The most expensive land purchases have been:

Axie Infinity

The world’s most famous blockchain game has also introduced the land concept into its universe. Land in Axie Infinity can be used in various gaming activities, or users can stake it to earn an APR paid in AXS tokens. Genesis land at the center of the game world is the rarest, and therefore the most expensive. Savannah land on the outskirts of the game world is logically the cheapest.

All land has the same size, but supposedly the type of land will influence the resources it will produce through land gameplay. This gaming element is now actively in development, and the team at Sky Mavis often organizes gameplay tests.

The most expensive land purchases have been:

What’s so special about metaverse lands?

Every virtual world has its own quirks, and buyers investing in the metaverse have their own reasons to buy virtual land NFTs.

However, no matter where you look, location is a key factor when buying a certain plot of land in the metaverse for a premium price. This can be because of foot traffic or for aesthetic reasons. 

Dive deeper into the latest metaverse trends

DappRadar will continue looking at interesting developments in the metaverse, so let us know on Discord what you want to learn and which projects you want to track.

Useful links

• Virtual Worlds Soar: Record Land Sales Generate $311M
• Top 10 Best Metaverse Virtual Worlds with Land NFTs
• Major Brands Stepping into the Metaverse
• What is the Metaverse: A Next Generation Virtual World