What is the Value of Virtual Real Estate (I don't get it)

I would like to know. I just don't understand how real estate that does not exist can have any value.

I can understand, a parcel just opposite the places where Newbies TP in from Help Island. Sure, you can place advertising there, it has some value. Parcels that are on the "popular" list, yes also useful for advertising. RL ads, not Linden stuff.

But a "home" on the beach? Great. All the lots are full? They will make more, ok?

I see no restrictions on the amount of land Linden Labs can create here. They could perhaps even go in other dimensions so multiple avi could occupy the same "space".

I thought the whole idea of actual real estate is "they aren't making more of it".

In any case, i tp to lots of places that are EMPTY. Someone spent hours making a great sim, but its empty.

My 2cents.

It has value because some of us are willing to pay for it.

Yes, they can make more, but it costs LL to make it, because they need to buy more equipment, so we can't use it unless we pay for it. And that's what we're paying for, the use of the "land", or in RL terms, we pay for server space to host our homes, businesses or whatever we choose to build.

Lots of places are empty, but some people get their enjoyment simply from building a place they like, and couldn't care less if no one else ever goes there, or in some cases actively prevent others from visiting.

The world is a marvelous place, isn't it? And new continents are always "being discovered" on the Grid (ty Magellan, for finding the long-rumored Bay City -- oops, wrong discussion...)

Perhaps the huge house on the beach somewhere is where the person lives in their imagination? SL is all about the value of the residents' imaginations.

See you inworld somewhere!
Pygar

/me opens up the wings on his shoulders and soars off

You have to NOT think of it as real estate - the people who go down that road inevitably lose their shirts in the land business because they forget that LL can and does make more land.

What "land" in SL really is - is purchasing server space so that you can have things that persist permanently in-world. You are basically buying your own sandbox in which you can put a business, a house, a garden, your collection of virtual airplanes, hangout for your friends, a giant toilet that does the hokey pokey, etc... When you own or rent land in SL you do so normally because you want to leave stuff permanently in-world for your use or somebody else's use.

Enjoyment!!

People place a value on it, that's all anything needs to have a value. What makes gold expensive? In all reality it's just a metal but people have placed more value on it than other metals.

What is the Value of Virtual Real Estate?

What is the Value of Anything?

Whatever you can get someone to pay for it, of course.

To me it has value because it IS real. Just because you can't touch or smell or taste something doesn't mean it's not real, just means that you...well.. can't do those things. I own land in SL, and I love it. It is my Home in SL, and I visit at least once a day, and dance and cuddle there.

Essentially it only has value because I let it, the same as everything else in the world (Either virtual or otherwise). I'm willing to pay as much as I do for my SL, and I'm happy with it.

for fun. to play house with your dollies. financially, you can resell and someone might be willing to pay you what you paid for it, or maybe more, or less.... but don't buy with intent to sell. buy for a place to be creative. then you won't be disappointed no matter what happens.

Virtual land has value in the same way as people go out and spend money on PlayStation games where they can drive round a virtual city shooting virtual bullets at everyone. Virtual land has value in the same way that a doll or a model aeroplane has value.

Generally a good 512m plot of land can be found quite cheap. There is also lots of land at silly high prices but that might just as well be set 'not for sale'!

Think of virtual land as a new generation of web site. In that model, LL is like Netscape, the Open Sim project is like Apache, and Nicholaz and the other clients are competing to become the next Mozilla.

There are lots of choices for free personal web sites now, but there didn't used to be so many choices. Even with those free choices, there are still many situations where people choose to pay.

Virtual land in SL and competitors won't evolve in exactly the same way, but I think the overall trends will be the same.

I bought "land" on the mainland Isle of Carlisle. I landscaped it and put in nice features. This was over a year and a half ago. When I visited last week, the features were still there. So you are buying a 3-D environment that you have control over. You can play the music you like, ban avatars or restrict access and basically do anything you want on your land. You can even move the terra around +4/-4 meters. There was a time where it was worth money to have the freedom and control to do these things. And it's why I look at SL real estate as real estate.

i love having land. it's worth something to me because i can put whatever i want on it and people will come. and they are! they come to listen to my radio show and the come to play at my club

i also want land with a house one day to put things that i just can't have for $2.00 in life like an Arabian stallion in my back yard and a nice 68 Camaro. i can buy whatever i want and i can find friends around the world who love the same things i do (like good new wave and alternative music) and we can dance to it, too. oh and i don't have to listen to someone else's station - everyone can listen to mine. mwahh ha ha ha ha

Scout, you have a very valuable insight there.

You're right, "they're not making any more of it" does NOT apply to SL land. It's important to keep this in mind.

While it is NOT like "real" land, virtual land in SL DOES have value. It has value because it allows you to rez objects in world. It has value because it allows you to create something people will (hopefully) like, and pay you for. And it has value because other people value it.

it has value because YOU enjoy it.

The truism has been noted several times already that the market value of SL "land" is what a willing buyer will pay for it on the open market.

However, the observations of the OP indicate the instability of the value of SL "land." Many factors, such as a uniltateral, arbitrary decision to flood the market with new "land" can drive that market value down to dirt in an instant with no prior warning. As the grid becomes more and more unstable daily, the value will plummet further as people reach their tolerance limit with a SL that not only fails to work as advertised, but really isn't functional.

So while SL "land" has a market value, it doesn't have anything in common with real life land in terms of solid investment value. Investment wise, junk bonds were far safer investments.

Only buy SL "land" with your liesure and entertainment budget. Don't dip into your investment budget to buy SL "land." Use your investment budget for real investments.

This is the best definition IMHO.. I spend more monthly on my website than I do on my land, but it is so much cooler to have a virtual gallery showing off my art that anyone in the world can randomly come across.. And the search function might get me higher on the list than something like google would for my website.

Wonderfully phrased, Isablan. However, I would like to add that while it is a place to build and maintain what you build on a specific server, there is a also a valuation element. Not all server space is created equal. The server's speed, and the amount other people are using it, as well as the type of land the server is mimicing, play a role in value. Land that appears to be waterfront or has some special terrain will be worth more, as is land in sims with faster servers.

Again, the ultimate value is in the ability to build and keep your objects on the land, but the view and the appearance of the land plays a role in how value is determined.

Dear Scout...please make a list of all the activities in the world that other people seem to enjoy that you find uninteresting. When you are finished, please post that list here so we can all tell you what you cannot figure out for yourself.