What is Digital Real Estate and How to Invest

In today’s digital age, it’s not uncommon to see real estate investments that utilize the power of technology. Digital real estate is a form of investment that uses the Internet to generate revenue by renting out your space or “property” for short periods. Digital real estate is one of the many types of real estate and has become very popular in recent years due to its quick and simple setup process (as opposed to traditional investing in physical properties), plus the ability to manage your investment remotely as opposed to having an active presence on site.

What is Digital Real Estate?

Digital real estate is the representation of value that exists on the internet or blockchain. Digital real estate can range from virtual property on the metaverse to websites and blogs or even social media pages. In other words: digital real estate can be almost anything online that makes money!

How is the Metaverse Related to Digital Real Estate

The metaverse is a world that exists in cyberspace. It’s a virtual reality where you can go to interact with other people, play games, and shop for goods. The metaverse is like our own universe but without any physical limitations; there are no laws of physics or biology that apply. This makes the metaverse an interesting place to buy space to advertise to future consumers. The higher the quality of “land” that you buy in the metaverse, the more likely advertisers will want to lease your land in the future. Metaverse real estate can appreciate and create cash flow, much like physical real estate!

Pros and Cons of Digital Real Estate Investing

Pros:

• Digital Real Estate is a great way to diversify your portfolio
• It can be a great addition to your retirement portfolio
• As with any new industry, there is a chance for a large appreciation upside
• Property autonomy—you can do much more with your digital “property” without the permitting, regulation, and supply-chain hassles of traditional real estate investing
• It can be classified as passive real estate investing which means you can spend more time doing things you enjoy and be more hands-off

Cons:

• Potential for fraud or scams (especially in the early days of this industry)
• Higher learning curve and a fair amount of technical know-how needed (at first)
• Picking the right digital world to invest in is a bit like a guessing game
• As with any new industry, investing in digital real estate may never catch on to mainstream investors and consumers

6 Examples of Digital Real Estate

Digital real estate is any type of digital asset that can be traded or exchanged. Digital assets can include:

1. Digital properties on metaverses like Sandbox and Decentraland
2. E-books and other media files (e.g., PDFs, MP3s) that are purchased or rented
3. Software programs (e.g., Photoshop, Microsoft Office) you buy or lease
4. Websites and blogs that make passive income through ads or affiliate marketing
5. Social media accounts with large followings that can sell ads
6. Digital tokens are issued by companies to raise funds for their startups
7. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin!

How to Get Started in Digital Real Estate Investing

To get started in digital real estate investing, you first need to build or buy your properties. If purchasing digital property in the metaverse appeals to you, learn how to buy digital real estate in the metaverse with this comprehensive guide. And before that, you may want to get to know a bit more about the world you’re investing in.

Tips for Building Your Own Digital Property

1. Start a blog and monetize it through advertising or affiliate marketing.
2. Buy domains that have good backlinks and are already ranking high in Google search results. Then expand the site into a full-fledged blog with quality content that attracts plenty of organic traffic.
3. Use Flippa to find websites that make money through AdSense or affiliates but aren’t being maintained by their owner anymore. Once you’ve got some sites built up with traffic, then you can sell them for profit on Flippa or another marketplace like Sedo (which specializes only in domain names).

Top 4 Places to Buy Digital Real Estate

1. Sandbox and Decentraland: Buy and sell digital “properties” using cryptocurrency.
2. Flippa and Empire Flippers: Search through, sell, and buy profitable online businesses, blogs, and more.
3. Fameswap and PlayerUp: Buy Instagram accounts with steady followings and search by followers, likes, and more.
4. Namecheap and GoDaddy: Buy unused website addresses and URLs that may be of value in the future.

4 Tips to Increase the Value of Your Digital Real Estate Investment

Building a digital real estate portfolio is a little different than physically buying properties, but can be just as profitable. Before you go down a rabbit hole of NFT and website investing, try and hit some of these tips so you invest with as much chance of success as possible.

1. Research the “metaverse” you’re looking to invest in and see which big names/brands are investing in which types of digital real estate.
2. If investing in blogs and websites, focus on building high-quality content that will organically foster backlinks for your site.
3. Focus on growing an income stream, and less on speculation, as steady businesses are a safe sales bet.
4. Build a portfolio based on your interests and niches that you care about. Being passionate about your investment will help it grow.

Key Takeaways of Digital Real Estate Investing

Though some may view digital real estate as an alternative real estate investment, it has a growing market and is a great way to diversify your investments. While there are many risks and benefits associated with this type of investment, the potential rewards can be huge! But before you venture into digital real estate investing, remember to educate yourself on your investment, never invest more than you can afford to lose, and learn as much as you can for free!

Digital Real Estate FAQs