Metaverse real estate collapses 99 percent from 2021 peak

Saturday 21 March 2026 - 12:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Metaverse real estate collapses 99 percent from 2021 peak

Virtual land once valued in the millions during the metaverse boom has plunged to a fraction of its former worth, marking one of the sharpest asset collapses in recent tech history.

Prices have fallen to four or five figure levels after peaking during 2021 and 2022. The decline accelerated this week following Meta’s announcement, later partially reversed, to scale back Horizon Worlds on its Quest virtual reality headsets, underscoring the weakening of the metaverse vision that once drew strong investor interest.

Data from CoinGecko shows that average metaverse land prices had already dropped 72 percent from their mid-2024 highs. Individual platforms saw even steeper losses, with The Sandbox down 95 percent, Decentraland falling 89 percent, and Otherdeed for Otherside declining 85 percent from peak levels.

High-profile purchases illustrate the scale of the collapse. A Snoopverse estate in The Sandbox that sold for 450,000 dollars is now valued at around 1,025 dollars, a drop of nearly 99.8 percent. A large Decentraland property bought for 2.43 million dollars has fallen to under 9,000 dollars. Another Sandbox estate acquired for 4.3 million dollars is now worth roughly 65,000 dollars.

The downturn has spread across related markets. NFT lending volumes have plunged by 97 percent, falling from nearly 1 billion dollars at their January 2024 peak to just over 50 million dollars by mid-2025.

Meta’s shifting strategy has reinforced negative sentiment. The company initially said Horizon Worlds would be removed from Quest headsets by June 2026 and shifted toward mobile platforms, before clarifying that existing VR experiences would continue for now. The change follows heavy losses at Reality Labs, which reported 19.2 billion dollars in operating losses in 2025 and nearly 80 billion dollars in cumulative losses since 2020.

The company has also cut more than 1,000 jobs in its metaverse division and closed several VR studios, signaling a broader pivot toward artificial intelligence and wearable technologies.

Analysts describe the collapse as a major repricing of speculative assets. During the boom, investors treated virtual land as scarce, high-value property expected to attract brands and users. In practice, much of the land remains inactive, with limited traffic and little resale demand.

While some collections have posted short-term rebounds from low levels, most early investors continue to face losses approaching total value erosion. Market observers now view much of the sector as illiquid, with limited practical use and weak long-term demand.