Mahindra Lifespace Developers Limited (MLDL), an Indian real estate and infrastructure company within the Mahindra Group, has introduced India’s inaugural metaverse home-buying experience.
Dubbed “Bastion at Mahindra Citadel,” this project empowers individuals to explore and even personalize the interiors of their prospective homes before making a purchase.
The virtual residential space mirrors the Pimpri neighborhood in northwestern Pune, spanning 9.66 acres and offering a selection of premium residences. Prospective buyers can also explore the city’s interior and exterior amenities.
Upon entering the virtual space, users have the option to select one of four avatars, providing them access to various experiences. They can choose to visit the Experience Center, embark on home tours, or explore available amenities.
For instance, by selecting the Experience Center, users are greeted by a virtual assistant that asks about their preferences, such as the number of bedrooms (ranging from 2 to more than 4), budget, and the purpose of the purchase (investment or residential). Users can then proceed to tour apartments within Towers A to K, selecting their preferred floor and virtually exploring the available units.
The “Reimagine your interior” feature allows users to interact with elements within the apartments, enabling them to customize colors, fabrics, and furnishings.
Additionally, users can virtually tour the city’s outdoor and indoor amenities, including the gym, library, sports court, and swimming pool, among others.
The grand unveiling of this project took place through a drone show in Pune, involving 600 drones. This show served as a visually introduction to the real estate metaverse experience and its features. The end of the event involved the drones forming a scannable QR code, which the audience could scan to access to the metaverse experience.
While this is a first step for the Indian real estate industry, it’s not the first instance of the metaverse being used in the sector.
In December 2022, Niecon and All Set collaborated to tokenize, fractionalize, and sell villas as NFTs, making real estate investments accessible to all. In April 2022, the DAMAC Group also announced its foray into the metaverse with virtual homes and real estate offerings.