The Land Glut: How did this happen?

I'd like to know why prices of land hasn't plummeted due to the market being saturated. There's loads of land available - but it's either overpriced, or surrounded by crap builds.

What is it with people that 'half build' something on land then leave it seemingly abandoned?

Lewis

I'd like to know why prices of land hasn't plummeted due to the market being saturated. There's loads of land available - but it's either overpriced, or surrounded by crap builds.

I am certainly no economy expert, but there seems to be an obvious connection between the falling L$ and the land glut. Frankly, I find this "experiment" of auctioning off so much wholesale land in such quick succession to be irresponsible--nearly as irresponsible as the virtually unannounced swtich from telehubs to infohubs.

I am not sure LL is going to have much of a choice but to release land in this manner.
The other option is hiring very expensive, San Francisco based, designers. I venture to guess that option would cost LL $75,000+ per year, per designer.

There's more land available for 5L per meter or less than I can remember. I do think land prices are coming down, at least temporarily.

Unfortunately not the land I'm looking for.

Not far from me theres 3 parcels of land which total around 3/4 of a sim.... which are on sale for the total of the equivalent of over $1500 if you convert from the L$ value. Seems odd to me when you could buy a full sim for $1200 and pay the same monthly fee. It's just flat grass, nothing special whatsoever.

I'm waiting for people to actually *really* dump land for good bargain prices out of desperation. 4500 sq m, grass, near road or waterside, fairly flat, PG if possible is what I was looking for - nice neighbours a bonus. I'm just not buying and then paying L$70,000 for it.

It does seem rather unfair that such an important part of the game - land ownership - is dominated by a tiny group of people,

yet their influence controls so much of the game. I think LL have made a huge mistake investing so much 'future profit' in letting land barons have a free rein, for things that may never happen, when current and paying users are having their 'freedom of expression' culled far more than today's update, through not being able to afford the land they want. Pay through the nose to buy the land, then pay an extra fee monthly to LL for the privilege of owning it. It's a faulty model, puts too much wealth, power and control in a few people's hands, and generates a situation that should never exist IMHO.

It's a great pity that those of us who just want to have fun, enjoying the game, and basically 'playing nice' aren't allowed to, because of the capitalism that is forced upon us. The choice of either 'put up or quit' is not a situation that I believe is in LL's interests.

Lewis

It does seem rather unfair that such an important part of the game - land ownership - is dominated by a tiny group of people, yet their influence controls so much of the game. I think LL have made a huge mistake investing so much 'future profit' in letting land barons have a free rein, for things that may never happen, when current and paying users are having their 'freedom of expression' culled far more than today's update, through not being able to afford the land they want. Pay through the nose to buy the land, then pay an extra fee monthly to LL for the privilege of owning it. It's a faulty model, puts too much wealth, power and control in a few people's hands, and generates a situation that should never exist IMHO.
Lewis

I was talking about *buying* land.... not owning land - but to own land, you have to buy, and the market is dominated by a few controlling people, who themselves are setting the prices. Individual landowners know that if they don't keep their prices close to the land barons prices, they will just buy the cheap land and set it straight for sale again - just as they do every time they violate the ToS by buying up chunks of first land with alts as soon as they become available, and reselling immediately.

..... and yet again, rather than people actually discussing the issue, I get told "if you don't like it, go back to TSO". I do not understand why so many people here are so damn hostile when people question things that do not make sense. I don't expect anyone to make any changes just to accommodate me - but you can rest assured that I am not the only one who actually wants to have fun in this game rather than see how much money you can screw people for.

Lewis[/QUOTE

Lewis, you still don't get it I'm afraid. Get yourself a basic economic text, turn to chapter one, "The law of Supply and Demand."
If people are telling you 'to go back to TSO", it's because you keep referring back to it. It is unreasonable to compare TSO with SL... TSO is supported by sales of games... SL isn't. Two entirely different creatures.
And I see you've taken someone else's suggestion re: land barons, alts, first land as gospel. So far from what I see, this is merely supposition. It doesn't make sense to back a claim with someone else's supposition.
And it's not really surprising that it's more expensive to buy land in parcels smaller than a sim than it is to buy an Island. That's the way things tend to work, buying anything in volume is normally cheaper.

I was talking about *buying* land.... not owning land - but to own land, you have to buy, and the market is dominated by a few controlling people, who themselves are setting the prices. Individual landowners know that if they don't keep their prices close to the land barons prices, they will just buy the cheap land and set it straight for sale again - just as they do every time they violate the ToS by buying up chunks of first land with alts as soon as they become available, and reselling immediately.

..... and yet again, rather than people actually discussing the issue, I get told "if you don't like it, go back to TSO". I do not understand why so many people here are so damn hostile when people question things that do not make sense. I don't expect anyone to make any changes just to accommodate me - but you can rest assured that I am not the only one who actually wants to have fun in this game rather than see how much money you can screw people for.

Lewis

I am not sure LL is going to have much of a choice but to release land in this manner.
The other option is hiring very expensive, San Francisco based, designers. I venture to guess that option would cost LL $75,000+ per year, per designer.

Yeah, they could do that... OR they could code up a terrain generator like everyone else does!

Believe me you wont find lands cheaper than this time. They are not overpriced, when u won an auction u pay near 4.5-5 / sqm for mature-green-flat-no water land.

Personally i raised my prices again to L$6000/1024sqm. They will sell soon or later.