Posts

decentraland

Virtual Real Estate In The Metaverse Is Declining In Value 

/in , /by

Decentraland is known as one of the most prominent virtual real estate platforms in the metaverse. While it was once valued at $1 billion, revenues have been on a major decline within the past year, according to reports from The Block. 

Only a handful of users have reportedly been trading virtual real estate in Decentraland. The real estate traded can be transacted in the form of NFTs for users. 

Embed from Getty Images

According to the reports from The Block, only about 20 to 30 people are actively buying and selling property weekley on the platform; valued at about $50,000. This marks a massive decline when compared to the millions of trades being made between 2021 and 2022. 

This decline shows a major lack of interest in owning virtual real estate, and the metaverse in general. 

While Decentraland had a billion-dollar market cap originally, reports from data collector DappRadar showed that only 38 active users were present over a 24 hour period on the platform. Other platforms within the metaverse have had the same level of struggles within the past year. 

Embed from Getty Images

According to The Block, Decentraland also saw a decline in their Fashion Week event. Last year, over 60 brands sponsored the virtual fashion event with over 100,000 users showing up. This year, however, only about 26,000 users attended the event. 

According to a gaming report from Jay Peters, “the world didn’t feel very alive. While walking around, I’d usually only see one or two other people in my vicinity.”

Hunter Swihart, a metaverse architect, told The Block that he wouldn’t be surprised if Decentraland would completely go under as a business in the near future.

“Everybody saw prices skyrocketing with big businesses buying land for millions of dollars, which now in retrospect was a terrible mistake.”

This decline in interest in virtual real estate shows that users are losing interest in spending their money within a virtual world, and the metaverse in general is losing hold of its audience.

Courtroom

Michael Jackson’s Estate Reaches Tax Victory In Court Battle 

/in , /by

Michael Jackson’s estate won a major years-long court battle after a US tax court found that the IRS inflated the value of his assets and image at the time of his death. 

According to reports, “The IRS had put the value of three disputed aspects of Jackson’s worth at the time of his 2009 death at about $482 million. This led to an estate tax bill for his heirs that was far too high given the King of Pop’s financial situation when he died. In his decision issued Monday, Judge Mark Holmes put that figure at $111 million, far closer to the estate’s own estimates.”

Embed from Getty Images

“We’re pleased. We always try to do the right thing. We tried from the beginning to follow the IRS rules and regulations, and relied on the best experts possible. It’s unfortunate that we were forced to litigate to protect ourselves,” co-executor John Branca told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The judge claimed to have mainly disagreed with the IRS over their value of Jackson’s image and likeness, which seemed to dwindle after multiple accusations of child molestation against the singer. The IRS gave an estimate of $161 million while Holmes ruled it was just $4.15 million. 

“Despite Jackson’s acquittal on all counts at his 2005 trial, the allegations continued to dog him, and while Jackson was selling out dates for a planned world tour when he died, he could not find a sponsor or merchandise partner. “The fact that he earned not a penny from his image and likeness in 2006, 2007, or 2008 shows the effect those allegations had, and continued to have, until his death,” Holmes wrote in the 271-page decision.

Embed from Getty Images

After the two lawsuits involved in the 2019 documentary “Leaving Neverland” were dismissed this year, however, as well as the pandemic forcing many projects to be delayed, Jackson’s estate leaders feel like it will not be the perfect time to start promoting Jackson’s legacy. 

“We’re at an absolute turning point,” Branca said. “I think people have come to realize that Michael was innocent of any charges and unable to protect himself. We’ve got a wonderful Broadway play coming, we’ll be reopening our Cirque du Soleil show soon and we’ve got some surprises coming.”

The judge noted that the estate has received massive success following Jackson’s death through his shows, concert films and several strategic moves to sell his assets. However, he also claimed that “the IRS appeared to be factoring those successes into its decisions rather than considering only the circumstances at the moment of Jackson’s death, when things were considerably more grim after several years of waning popularity, poor management and reckless spending from Jackson.”

The judge went on to mock the estate’s initial valuing of Jackson’s image and likeness at only $2,000, however, they were also “putting one of the best known celebrities in the world, the King of Pop, at the price of a heavily used 20-year-old Honda Civic.”

Expensive Property

A Look at the Top Ten Most Expensive Property in America

/in , /by

We all love looking at the property of the rich and famous. However, do you actually know where the most expensive places to live are in the United States? Property Shark – the real estate blog – released its annual ranking of the top 100 priciest zip codes in America this week and there is an interesting mix of locations featured.

With 125 zip codes actually making the list due to the large number of ties in medians, it is clear that the richest citizens live in California with 91 percent of the cities listed based in the Golden State and areas such as the Bay Area enjoying a price increase of at least 40%. Based on median sale prices rather than asking prices to reflect a more realistic market, a Brooklyn zip code has made the list for the first time thanks to an amazing 71% price increase over the last two months, as well as areas in Washington, Florida, New York and Massachusetts.

However it appears that 63 of the zip codes featured saw a contraction in their median prices compared to figures released in 2018. 38 zip codes had an increase in their median prices and there were 20 new areas added to the list.

We take a look at the top ten expensive zip codes to buy property here:

#10 Ross, California – 94957

Located to the north of San Francisco, Ross in California has climbed 13 positions in the last year to make it into the top ten and is now North Bay’s most expensive zip code – Stinsons Beach, 94970 is their second most expensive, hitting 16 on the list.

#9 Los Altos, California – 94022

Drive an hour south of Ross and you will hit Los Altos, which has made it to number 9 thanks to having a median of $3.45 million. The Santa Clara community has recently become the third most expensive zip code in Silicon Valley with property prices continuing to increase.

Embed from Getty Images

#8 TriBeCa, New York – 10013

With a median of $3.51 million, TriBeCa’s 10013 has seen real estate prices increase by 8% in the last year making it hit the top ten.

#7 Palo Alto, California – 94301

Just four miles away from the most expensive zip code in the US, Palo Alto has a median of $3.52 million. Including parts of Crescent Park as well as Downtown Palo Alto, 94301 has seen a decrease in property prices of 6% year-over-year.

#6 Boston, Massachusetts – 02199

With a population of 1,146 the Prudential Center area of Back Bay in Boston has dropped from number three to number six in Property Shark’s list thanks to a 23% contraction of its median.

#5 TriBeCa/Downtown/Manhattan, New York – 10007

With a median price of $3.9 million, this affluent area of New York saw an increase of 27% and is home to younger celebrities, including Taylor Swift, as well as Wall Street bankers.

#4 Beverly Hills, California – 90210

Once again California has claimed most of the top spots with Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California, seeing an increase of 27% on property prices, taking their median up to just over $4 million. However their exclusive gated community of Beverly Park Circle, often described as the richest street in Beverly Hills, has a median home value of $16.4 million.

#3 Santa Monica, California – 90402

Reaching number 3 in the most expensive real estate markets is Santa Monica in California, an increase of 2 positions from last year thanks to a 10% year-over-year increase pushing it ahead of last year’s number 3 slot – Boston’s 02199 which has moved down to sixth.

Embed from Getty Images

#2 Sagaponack, New York – 11962

Just missing out on the top spot is Sagaponack in New York. The most expensive area outside of California has seen a price contraction of 22%, however it has managed to maintain its position from last year.

Located in the Hamptons, the Southampton village appreciates an ocean-vista and stunning sunsets. Both are pivotal to keeping the house prices up with the media price now sitting at $4.3 million.

It is also home to junk bond billionaire Ira Rennert’s 29 bedroom summer house, complete with a 100 car garage.

#1 Atherton, California – 94027

If you have ever visited the tech-titan community of Atherton, California you will have marvelled at the stunning houses so the fact that it is the most expensive zip code in America will come as no surprise.

With companies including Facebook, Tesla and Google amongst other technology giants based in the area, Atherton has become home to many of the Silicon Valley residents.

With famous residents including former HP CEO Meg Whitman – now CEO of video startup Quibi – and Google’s Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, property in this region can sell for an average $6.7 million, an increase of 43 per cent since 2017.