If you thought that the real estate market on earth was hot, you would definitely call the property market of the moon "scorching". Dennis Hope, founder of Lunar Embassy Corporation and a real estate agent claims that he has sold almost around 7.5 percent of the moon's land and made around $600 million by selling 11 acres of the natural satellite.
According to the Huffington Post, Hope and his Nevada based company offers an acre of land on the moon for just $19.99. He claims to have sold large parcels of extraterrestrial lands to over 1800 corporations including two popular hotel chains of the U.S.
But is this practical? Yes, very much in fact.
Hope started his company back in 1987. He was unemployed and almost divorced. He then thought if he only had some property, all his problems could be solved and then he looked up at the moon and came up with an idea of asserting development rights over the satellite, reports ABC News.
He too was skeptical about the idea and therefore decided to do some research. He consulted the "Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, Including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies," popularly known as the Outer Space Treaty. The Outer Space Treaty governs all activities related to other heavenly bodies. The treaty explicitly states that no person is allowed to assert claim over other planets. However, it does not specify what kind of claim and that is when Hope hit jackpot.
Apparently, Hope consulted three lawyers about the assertion. Two of them said they didn't know. However, the third lawyer gave it a go and since then, there is no stopping Hope. According to Space.com, even now, lawyers say asserting development rights over heavenly bodies is kind of a "Gray Area" and no set rules have been determined on it as yet.
He started off by selling land on the moon by issuing "Lunar Deeds" and ended up expanding his property portfolio to the planets as well- Pluto included. Not only can you buy property on the moon but can also own a piece of Mars (Martian Deeds) or Venus (Venusian Deed) or even both and more. He now sells land via a listing website, Moonestates.com.
Hope said to ABC News that the demand for land on the moon was highest because of its "view-ability". Plus, not all land is for sale. Hope asserted that he wasn't selling the "Apollo landing" areas on the moon and "a human face" area on Mars as well.
So if you ever promised anybody that you would buy them the moon, you actually can.
Check out a flash mob video made by the Moonestates.com below:
