Out of this world homes skyrocket as NFTs boom

Real Estate

Team MONEYME|19 July 2022| 2-minute read

It’s the new investment trend making waves around the globe. The $14 billion market only exists in the digital universe but already it’s starting to impact the property sector.

Welcome to the weird world of NFTs.

What is an NFT?

NFT stands for a non-fungible token. Put simply it’s a digital token that can’t be copied. With an NFT the token acts as a digital receipt that proves the asset is an original. The info about who owns what is stored on a digital database called a blockchain. Take Leonardo da Vinci, if he’d dabbled in NFTs back in his day, nobody could claim they possessed the original Mona Lisa unless they owned the NFT.

The sale of NFTs has skyrocketed in recent months. In March this year high flying auction house Christie’s sold its first digital piece by the artist Beeple for a cool $US 69 million, making him one of the top three most valuable living artists. Outside of the art world, NFTs have also been sold as tweets, football trading cards, and music albums (hello Kings of Leon).

Earlier this year the first digital house sold for over half a million dollars worth of crypto. That’s right, a house that doesn’t exist in reality sold for $500,000. The Mars House was specifically designed for 3D virtual environments by contemporary artist Krista Kim (think Secondlife from the early 2000s, but better). You can go on tours of The Mars House and there’s talk of a wedding at the house down the line.
 

Digital trends sweeping the home

Beyond becoming virtual homes, NFTs are also bringing a new edge to interior design. Celebrity socialite Paris Hilton is a big fan of NFTs. Hilton’s Beverly Hills home is covered in digital screens that display her cutting-edge investments.

Not everyone always agrees with Paris when it comes to what’s hot. Sceptics see NFTs just as an overpriced receipt and claim the buzz is just blowing up another bubble.

For now, producers have the ear of the market. The value of NFTs surged eightfold to a whopping $14.4 billion in the three months to September, compared to the same time last year.

While it’s probably going to be a while before digital artworks become part of mainstream interior design there are early signs of an emerging NFT market in Australia. In March, Brunswick gallery ​​Neon Parc exhibited works by Kieren Seymour, where each sale came with an NFT of the painting.

Key takeaways:

• NFTs are a trending futuristic artform. For modern homes, consider the impact digital art could have when presenting a property.
• The home used to be the only major investment that people made during their lives. Now, NFTs and cryptocurrency are becoming more attractive to younger buyers, so be sure to explain why real estate is still the best investment.

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