Buying a Parcel

On merca.earth, every registered parcel is always for sale. No listings, no negotiations. Owners self-assess value by paying costs proportional to that value, and any buyer can force a purchase at the current price. The result is a liquid land market where parcels move to whoever values them most.

How Buyout Works

The protocol enforces forced buyout through the buy_full smart contract function. Any parcel can be purchased by anyone, at any time, for its current on-chain price. The owner cannot refuse.

When a buyout executes, three things happen atomically:

1. The buyer's payment is split and distributed.
2. The parcel's premium multiplier escalates, raising the next buyout price.
3. Ownership transfers from seller to buyer.

Finding a Parcel to Buy

Browse the map at merca.earth. Click any parcel you do not own to open its detail panel:

• Current price — exact SUI required to buy right now.
• Area — size in square meters or square kilometers.
• Price per km squared — effective rate after the premium multiplier.
• Owner — shortened wallet address linked to the block explorer.
• Polygon ID — on-chain object identifier.

If the parcel belongs to someone else, a BUY PARCEL button appears at the bottom.

The Buyout Price

The buyout price is computed on-chain from two components:

$$P_{\text{base}} = \frac{A \times R}{10^6} \qquad P_{\text{buyout}} = \frac{P_{\text{base}} \times M}{10^6}$$

Where $A$ is the parcel area in m², $R$ is the level's fixed rate (price per km² in MIST), and $M$ is the parcel's premium multiplier in parts per million. A fresh parcel starts at $M = 10^6$ (1.0x — no markup). Each sale escalates the premium.

The escalation follows a resale ladder of 64 predefined multipliers $m_1, m_2, \ldots, m_{64}$ applied sequentially on each sale:

$$M_{n+1} = M_n \times m_{n+1} \qquad m_1 = 2.95,\; m_2 \approx 2.18,\; \ldots,\; m_{\geq 65} = 1.15$$

A parcel bought and sold many times costs far more than a freshly registered one of the same area.

Executing a Purchase

1. Connect your wallet. If not connected, clicking BUY PARCEL prompts you. The purchase resumes after connection.

2. Review the price. The displayed buyout price is the total SUI you pay. Gas fees are estimated separately by your wallet.

3. Click BUY PARCEL. The app constructs a market_v2::buy_full transaction with the polygon ID and a payment coin matching the current price.

4. Approve in your wallet. Review the amount and confirm.

5. Wait for confirmation. Once on-chain, you see a success message. The parcel is yours.

The entire process is a single atomic transaction. If anything fails (insufficient funds, price changed, network error), nothing happens and your funds stay untouched.

What Happens to the Previous Owner

The payment splits three ways:

Recipient	Share	Purpose
Seller (previous owner)	85%	Compensation for losing the parcel
Protocol treasury	7%	Protocol development and operations
Hierarchy pool	8%	Tax revenue for owners of parent-level parcels covering this area

The seller receives their 85% as a direct SUI transfer in the same transaction — no separate claim needed.

If the seller had accumulated unclaimed tax revenue on the parcel, that balance is automatically withdrawn and sent to them before ownership transfers. The buyer does not inherit unearned tax revenue.

After Purchase

The parcel is yours immediately. You can:

• Rename it. Open the parcel panel, click "Edit Metadata," add a name and description.
• Add a visual overlay. Upload an SVG image that renders on top of the parcel.
• Expand it. Use "Add Slice" to claim adjacent unclaimed territory.
• Collect tax. If your parcel covers child-level parcels at a higher hierarchy level, collect cascading tax revenue from them.

The premium multiplier escalated with your purchase. If someone buys the parcel from you, they pay a higher price and you receive 85% of that amount. The escalated premium also raises your effective holding cost (price per km squared).

Strategic Considerations

Look at the premium. A parcel near 1.0x is cheap for its area. One that has changed hands many times carries a steep premium. Consider whether the location justifies it.

Evaluate hierarchy position. Higher-level parcels collect tax from smaller parcels beneath them. A well-positioned parent parcel generates ongoing income from child-level registrations, buyouts, and expansions.

Consider total cost. The buyout price is one-time, but the escalated premium means the next buyer pays more. If nobody buys from you, you keep the parcel indefinitely. High area activity means more tax revenue flowing through the hierarchy.

Watch for underpriced parcels. Low-premium parcels in active areas are opportunities. The first resale carries the steepest jump (nearly 3x), so buying a fresh parcel in a desirable location can be profitable if resale demand exists.

Check area and location. Larger parcels cost more at the same premium (price is proportional to area), but cover more territory — meaning more potential tax collection from child parcels.