New York real estate developer buys first-ever real-life office building as NFT

As interest in buying land in the metaverse continues to grow, the very first non-fungible token (NFT) office building in New York City has been sold.

The 4,700 square meter NFT “located” at 44 West 37th Street, functions as an irreversible digital asset which aims to monetize and authenticate ownership of the building’s digital assets and was acquired by a real estate developer Azul NYC.

The 16-story structure that calls into question the role that architecture plays in real estate and the metaverse was designed by Integrated Projects who announced the sale at the start of September. Furthermore, the 44W37 NFT was minted on the decentralized, open-source blockchain Ethereum (ETH), and was sold for only 1 ETH currently valued around $1,300.

Jose Cruz Jr, Founder of Integrated Projects, Integrated Projects said.

“NFT’s are not new. 3D scans of buildings are not new…what’s new is the merging of these technologies with blockchain utility, enabling building owner’s to create, own, transact, and monetize their digital assets—similar to how we do so with our physical assets.”

Buy pieces of real estate in minutes

Without having to worry about the inconvenience of transferring property ownership, owners are able to develop, possess, sell, and monetize their digital assets. 

This implies that rather than selling or buying actual property, one deals in digital assets such as photographs, 3D scans, floor plans, virtual tours, and location reports. Since this process of the transaction is expedited when using an NFT, it is possible for a buyer to take possession of a piece of real estate in a matter of minutes.

NFTs are providing the potential to set rigorous ownership laws, not only in real estate but also in intellectual property. The “44W37,” like many other skyscrapers in Manhattan, could herald the start of a new age in architecture and real estate in megacities.

“The digital transformation of commercial real estate is going to fundamentally change how we design, build, operate and monetize our spaces,” says Jack Ezon, Principal of Azul NYC, “this is still day one.”

Notably, Finbold reported last year that people could now buy or sell property in New York City with Bitcoin (BTC), Dogecoin (DOGE), and ETH so the latest NFT purchase marks the next stage of growth in the city as investments in virtual property continues to find investors.