Photo: Courtesy of Decentraland

The real estate industry is bracing for what could be a harsh winter: Housing markets are cooling across the country, homebuyers are balking at rising interest rates and pulling out of sales, and agents they are laid off or struggle to find additional sources of income.

But in the metaverse, where Mark Zuckerberg did a little dance this week while promising his fellow avatars legs, a more definitive clash has come. Virtual land prices are down nearly 85 percent since January. Despite a lot of hype in 2021 around this digital world, where parcels of real estate are bought and sold…