Real estate on Mars – The year 2075
In my book 2075. Wenn Schönheit zum Verbrechen wird (2075: When Beauty Became a Crime), I explore a future that embodies both optimism and pessimism. Below is a brief excerpt from the book on the subject of the real estate market (you can find more here: https://schoenheit-2075.de).
Mars was home to a small city of 4,000 inhabitants and 20,000 robots, Hayek City, named in honour of the economist Friedrich August von Hayek. A second settlement, Mises City, had also been established on the planet, and was dedicated to the memory of the Austrian-American economist and leading figure of the Austrian School, Ludwig von Mises. In the years since it was founded, Mises City had grown to accommodate 6,000 inhabitants and 30,000 robots.
Trillionaires take possession of Mars
Neither of these two cities had been set up by governments; they had been created by a consortium of trillionaires who had declared their independence from Earth while also maintaining a brisk trade with their home planet. In possession of advanced space technology, they had seized control of Mars. Various nations vehemently objected, arguing that it flagrantly violated the Outer Space Treaty signed some 100 years ago.
However, the settlers defiantly retorted that the signatory countries had merely agreed that no nation could assert ownership over Mars. “Mars is not within their jurisdiction. They are not authorized to issue prohibitions. On the contrary, they have themselves declared that they have no such authority,” an international court had ruled ten years earlier.
And the trillionaires justified their seizure of Mars with the argument: “Mars should belong to those who are able to travel there, who are able to build cities there, and who are able to fund such endeavors. And that means us, not the politicians.” The governments of Earth protested, declaring that without publicly-funded space exploration and countless contracts between government agencies and private companies, the trillionaires would never have made it this far. The trillionaires dismissed these claims: “That was so long ago. The last time the government succeeded in such a massive undertaking on its own was the Moon landing, and that was 100 years ago.” The trillionaires helped finance their project by selling plots of land on Mars to investors on Earth. A stock exchange even emerged, facilitating the trade in stocks in Mars-REITs.
Trading in property on the Mars
Daxon was a successful real estate broker. He had already made a name for himself in the industry, having co-founded a respected and highly profitable company a few years ago. He saw endless possibilities for real estate broker who sold properties in promising locations on the Red Planet to eager investors and speculators.
As soon as it became possible to buy property on Mars, a veritable land rush started. Dubbed “red gold fever” by some and compared to the tulip mania of the 17th century by others, the market skyrocketed. Prices surged nearly tenfold in just six months. But most buyers weren’t interested in buying plots to build on. They were hoping to flip the land a few weeks or months later and make a killing. Daxon had got in quite early, when land was still cheap, and had also snagged a few prime plots for himself.
“Back then, almost everyone told me I was crazy,” he confided in his girlfriend Alexa. After land prices had quintupled, he had become skeptical, selling off half of his undeveloped plots on Mars and urging his clients to do the same. Alexa knew that Daxon prided himself on having made a lot of money as a contrarian investor, doing the opposite of what everyone else was doing. “Don’t you think you might have sold too early?” she asked, seeming happy to forget about the incident with Lena at the university.
“Maybe,” Daxon replied, tipping back on his chair. “But I don’t really trust the hype. I sometimes get the feeling that every man and his dog wants to buy something on Mars, but there won’t be that much built there in the next 100 years. You can never get your timing absolutely right anyway. You’ve done more than well enough if you’ve managed to buy near a low and sell near a high.”
