Digital Real Estate Explained & How To Invest Wisely In 2024

Digital real estate is one of the most interesting ways to make money and is one of the rapidly growing investment opportunities out there.

More businesses are moving online every day, increasing the demand in the emerging digital market and giving you more money-making opportunities.

But it’s also one of the most misunderstood investments because people don’t understand what virtual land is and how you can invest in something that isn’t tangible.

This guide will explain everything you need to know about digital real estate, from what it is to how you can start investing today to add multiple income streams.

Digital Real Estate Explained

What Is Digital Real Estate?

Basically, digital real estate is a term used to describe any online or internet-based property.

Like physical real estate, digital real estate works the same way. It can be bought, and it can also be sold or rented.

Also, similar to the physical world, real estate in the digital sphere is becoming more and more valuable.

As its value grows, so could your money if you choose wise investments in digital real estate!

In other words, it’s an asset that exists on the web, but here are some examples to check out:

• Websites
• Email accounts
• E-Stores
• YouTube channels
• Blogs
• Social media platforms

How Much Are People Making?

There’s no doubt that digital real estate is a hot commodity these days.

Whether buying and selling websites or investing in domain names, people are cashing in on the potential of the internet.

So, just how much money are people making? Well, it depends.

Many factors can affect how much money you can make with digital real estate investing, including the size and quality of your portfolio, your level of experience, and the amount of time and effort you’re willing to put in.

Some people can generate a full-time income from their digital property, like having a blog or flipping blogs as their career.

Others are content with earning an extra $1,000 each month using digital real estate as a side hustle with a few hours each week.

An example of a digital real estate purchase is the record-breaking purchase of 792 parcels of digital real estate from Atari for $4.28 million in November 2021.

What Is The Metaverse?

The metaverse is a term used to refer to the virtual world, which comprises all the online communities and websites in a three-dimensional simulated reality that people can enter and interact with using avatars.

For many people, a metaverse is an augmented reality where they can escape from life’s everyday problems and explore their creativity.

It is often seen as a place where people can be who they want to be and where they can do things they could not do in the real world.

In this case, we aren’t exactly talking about playing Fortnite and buying things digitally for your characters- the metaverse has digital currencies and things to buy, a.k.a. digital real estate and investments to grow your wealth.

How To Buy Digital Real Estate

Buying digital real estate is like buying physical property. The goal is to purchase virtual land that will appreciate in value over time and generate a passive income stream.

You’re not limited by the location of the digital assets in the virtual world like with traditional real estate, and you have more affordable options than physically buying real estate investments.

Digital Wallets

To purchase digital real estate like virtual land requires digital currency in a digital wallet.

The digital wallet is your “virtual bank account” that uses real-world dollars to buy and sell online.

Just like with your actual bank account, you’ll have something like a password to get into your account. In this case, you’ll have a seed phrase for your account to verify your identity when making a digital real estate investment.

Write down the phrase and keep it close to you, or memorize it if you can. If you lose the seed phrase, they are tough to recover.

Buying Platforms

When making digital real estate investments in the metaverse, you have a few options to pick from, including a metaverse platform or a third-party platform.

Virtual real estate can be bought directly on a metaverse platform selling digital real estate like the virtual worlds of Decentraland or Sandbox or a third-party platform like

When looking at property, it might be time-consuming to look at the different price ranges and features of digital land. Using platforms means logging in and out of numerous platforms.

So a first-time digital real estate investor might want to work with a third-party platform like OpenSea.

They can switch between the different platforms to check out virtual land details, allowing you to see the digital assets’ different price ranges and features more readily.

But one benefit of purchasing virtual real estate directly within metaverse platforms such as Decentraland or Sandbox is that you get a good idea of what services are available and who your neighbors are.

Yes, you have neighbors in the metaverse!

Send Offers & Earn Digital Real Estate

In the digital world, real estate is easy to purchase. You don’t have an agent negotiating digital real estate prices like you would with physical real estate.

It’s up to you to negotiate the price and navigate your platforms for the best options.

To purchase assets in the metaverse, you check the different platforms to find the property you want to buy. Then, if it’s available, you click on the parcel you want to buy and make your purchase.

For example, premium land will be yellow and ordinary ground will be grey on Sandbox. The blue “buy” button may be used to acquire property on Sandbox.

Unlike in the real world, the virtual worlds do not have appraisals. The metaverse market decides what a digital property is worth. It doesn’t mean that you can’t negotiate the price.

You can put offers in for a virtual property in Decentraland. The owners can accept or reject the offer.

There are also auction options, like a list of online real estate properties for auction in OpenSea.

Once you have made an offer or pressed the “buy” button, if you aren’t negotiating, you’re ready to make the purchase as long as your digital wallet is funded and ready to pay.

Your wallet records the transaction, which generates an NFT title to the property that is unique to you, and then you have digital real estate added to your investments.

Best Money-Makers

If you’re thinking of starting with digital real estate investing, you can consider a few factors for your digital real estate business:

• Potential return on the virtual real estate investment
• Stability of the asset
• Liquidity of the asset.

With that in mind, here are 3 of the best money-makers in digital real estate: 

Buying & Selling Domain Names

A domain name is a significant online real estate investment these days. The right domain name can help you attract more visitors to your website, leading to more sales and profits.

If you don’t already know, a domain name is the address of a website on the internet. For example, the domain name of this website is https://thesavvycouple.com.

But what does this have to do with digital real estate?

Well, domain names can be used to make money in two ways: creating a popular website that makes money or selling domains for a profit.

Of course, our example is our own money-making blog! We bought the domain name to use and use our website to inform people about finances, plus we make money through sponsored posts and affiliate marketing.

But you can get creative and make domain names to sell, or you can buy a domain name for a low price and then sell it for a higher price. People want good names for their businesses online and may be unable to think of one on their own or may have to purchase one they like because you already own it.

You can use website hosting like Bluehost to start websites with free domain names.

Website Building

Starting a blog can be a great way to earn extra money with digital assets, just like we are with our blog. If you build a popular blog, you can even make money by selling ad space to monetize your website traffic.

Whatever niche idea you pick should be a passion of yours, or something you like or know is popular, but you need to be sure you have plenty to write about and quality content to attract readers.

If you’re not interested in running a website long-term, you can also make money by flipping domains and blogs you create that have gained traffic and interest online.

Flipping websites involves buying an existing internet property, improving it, and selling it for a profit. Website flipping can be a great way to make quick cash, but it’s essential to do your research before getting started.

Jasper AI is an excellent tool to help you create quality content quicker and build your website in less time, so check it out and see how you could benefit from an AI writing assistant.

Growing Your Digital Real Estate

No matter what business you’re in or what industry, we all share one common goal: to grow.

If you own a blog, you want that blogging business to grow quickly so you can increase your income and reach more people.

Growing your digital real estate can increase your reach, connect with more customers, and drive more sales. 

Here are how people develop their digital real estate and increase their income potential:

SEO

To make money from digital real estate investing, you need people to either buy from you or buy your real estate.

In the case of blogs, you need to grow your website to earn more income- and SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is how to do it!

By better targeting your audience and optimizing your website for the search engines, you can attract more visitors to your site.

On top of that, you need good a good SEO program and other blogging resources to know how you compare to your competitors and if your content needs to up its game!

We started using Surfer SEO last year to get our content more in tune with the needs of our readers, and we can’t imagine a better program for you.

With Surfer SEO, you can create content outlines that will tell you the keywords you need to use for your search engine optimization. Plus, you can review old content and see how you can change it to perform better in Google searches.

Sponsored Posts/Ads

You could take your website a step further as a money-making digital asset by getting sponsored posts and adding ads for users to check out and buy from.

Sponsored Content

Sponsored content is when businesses pay to have their content or product featured on your website. This is a great way to generate new leads and drive traffic to your site.

Ads

A common blogger mistake is not monetizing the site with ads. You can sell ad space directly to businesses or join an ad network to sell advertising on behalf of multiple businesses on your digital asset.

Ad networks like Google Adsense typically offer higher CPMs (cost per thousand impressions) than direct sales, which can be a great way to boost your earnings.

Creating Memberships

Creating memberships is one way to grow your digital real estate and increase your income potential.

Memberships can be whatever you make it, but if people pay to be part of the club, you need to provide content and meaning for them.

You can start by setting up a subscription-based social media marketing service, email subscriptions with ConvertKit, or starting an online forum where members can pay to access exclusive content and get questions and feedback on their work.

Affiliate Marketing

We and many others have used affiliate marketing as a steady passive income stream.

Affiliate marketing is performance-based marketing where you get paid every time someone buys from the link you provide.

There are many ways to participate in affiliate marketing, and new and established website owners can use their existing platforms to generate new leads and sales.

Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing is an eBook that can teach you about affiliate marketing and how to get started so that you can monetize your website ASAP.

Selling Digital Products

If you’re looking for a way to take your business to the next level, consider selling digital products. Selling digital products is a great way to grow your digital real estate.

Limits don’t exist when it comes to digital products- you can create online courses, ebooks, photos, music, or other types of intellectual property.

For example, we started a Shopify store to provide free budget templates and sell other financial documents to organize money and make families’ lives easier.

Once you create your product, it can be sold repeatedly at no additional cost- you don’t have to worry about inventory or shipping costs. That means more profit in your pocket and more growth for your business.

And as part of your digital real estate investing, you can start a store with Shopify or Etsy and sell digital products in no time.

Adding digital products to your to-do list can be a lot to figure out on your own, but don’t worry! You can get help in starting your store.

We recommend taking the Million Dollar Shop course to learn how to start a successful Shopify store, so you know you can have a store people can find, and your products sell instead of sitting around.

Pros & Cons Of Digital Real Estate

Pros

• Property information can be stored in a secure online database
• Transactions can be completed with just a few clicks
• Buyers can easily view properties from all over the world
• Larger pool of investment options
• Often cheaper than traditional bricks-and-mortar property

Cons

• Negotiations may not always be possible
• Must be constantly involved- very hands-on to avoid missing deals and opportunities
• Can be more volatile than other types of investments

FAQs

Is digital real estate a scam?

The answer is complicated as some bad apples out there are using digital real estate to scam people. However, many legitimate businesses are doing good work in the industry and making digital real estate legit.

It’s essential to research before investing in any digital real estate company and be wary of promises that seem too good to be true.

Is digital real estate actually valuable?

A few short years ago, the idea of digital real estate would have sounded absurd. After all, how can you make the best investments in things that exist solely in cyberspace?

Today, however, digital real estate is a hot commodity. Companies are willing to pay top dollar for prime web real estate, and savvy individuals are taking advantage of this by investing in domain names and developing successful websites.

While the value of digital real estate can fluctuate, there’s no doubt that it has become a valuable asset in today’s economy.

Can I get rich with digital real estate?

Many believe digital real estate is the key to becoming a millionaire. After all, many examples of people who have made a fortune by investing in digital properties.

However, there’s also a significant risk of losing money. Just like any investment, there’s no guarantee of success.

When should I buy or sell?

Deciding when to buy or sell digital real estate depends on a few factors.

The most important factor to consider is the property’s current market value. If the property is undervalued, it may be an excellent time to buy.

Conversely, think about selling digital real estate if the property is overvalued- that can make you a quick profit!

Other factors include your financial situation, the current market state, and your long-term goals for the property. With these factors in mind, you can make a well-informed decision about when to buy or sell.

Key Takeaways

While some may scoff at investing in something that isn’t “real,” there are many benefits to virtual lands, the biggest being that you can quickly make money online.

Many businesses and individuals already invest in digital real estate and make money from it- and so can you!

Digital real estate is a cost-effective opportunity for people and businesses to get in on the ground floor of a potentially lucrative market and side hustle. 

Consider joining a platform and investing in digital real estate today!