One has to wonder how some folks make $L in land any more...

I am wondering how some folks like Chung, Outland, and other land gurus make any $L with all the little folks slowly eating up the lower end of the market.
Here are the actuall costs.

If you buy a full sim (64,000M) it will cost you $L5.5 per meter ($1,000 USD) ((The equivelent of paying $L5623 for 1024M of land))

It cost a person having full regin or more, $L1.2 per month, per meter they own (land fees)...so lets say you have a 1024M lot....it will cost the equivelent of $L1228 per month you own it.


Now the reason I ask the question is this week a land dealer went under, and dumped all his propertys on the market...I did some reaserch, and found his mistake was overcharging for the land, and sitting on the land way too long.....this raises the question...are the large land companies realy doing as well as people thinck?...I know I've watched Chung land sit for months on end (remember the $L1.2 per meter, per month?).....

If you take a look at the closed auctions, you will see that the lots are not selling. The prices are too high, and sales are too slow, for real estate flippers to make a profit.

Something is seriously amiss with the prices that are being set for auction land and with the amount of land being released. It's too bad--I would have been ready to buy a sim myself in a few months, but now I'll need to wait for the market to stabilize before I can risk that kind of cash.

Only the very best and most imaginative people can break even. The folks who just buy a sim, flatten it, and try to sell a bunch of teeny lots are going to get skinned.

The land market seems heavily tilted toward island sims these days.

- island control capabilities
- view control (the comforting, numbing void)
- the inherent theme and zoning possibilities
- mainland-competitive rental rates
- COMMUNITY (that electric, wonderful vibe so often overlooked!)

...plus the sense that you aren't just using economic muscle to mark up mainland for the sole purpose of reselling, thus profiting off the backs of the less fortunate.

If you are fortunate enough to foster a community, it's *significant* value-added for everyone concerned. Imagine that - a place people want to return to!

It's too bad it is not possible to get an "island" that is connected to the mainland.

I have one, hehe (TigerFox Island)

But it would be nice if LL sold more blank mainland sims a developer could taraform to his or her liking.

Indeed. Still it looks like Linden Lab does not want to give up the idea of an interconnected mainland. Some residents also hesitate to enter a relationship (regarding land ownership) with anyone else than the Lindens. Maybe this is just a dying sentiment. I am not sure.

While I certainly can understand that you consider the rental business an unselfish service to the community (are you by accident renting out land on a private sim? ) some fellow residents are making fine profits by renting land on private sims. Others have build very nice communities on the mainland.

Mainland land business = ugly profiteering or Rental business on private sims = beautiful service to the community of SL seems a bit of an over-simplification to me.

Good God, I don't leave Caledon much anymore. I haven't been randomly shot, stalked, or otherwise abused by either mashers or illiterates yet in that sim.

~Kami

Even if I owned my own sim, I would still go back to Caledon. I hardly if ever leave the sim now. It's where I work, do business, and actually *gasp* socialize! I even had a hand on hosting a party last April 1st and it was fun (and hoped everyone enjoyed), and totally something I did not expect to be doing.

I've done some research on other private island rentals but they weren't as appealing as Caledon. I think it's because in the sim, we have a theme and a good community to go with it. The other rental communities can't offer that, sadly, which is why I'm going to be a 'Caledonian' for quite a while.

Frankly, I prefer private sims but I'd like to see private continents with actual 'zoned countries'.

Awww...

*happy Desmond*

Gee I didn't even bribe anybody or mention this thread - they lubs me!

(digs in pockets for payoff monehz just in case)


And Dana, yeah, for the (hours spent + financial risk)/(money made), unless you have dozens of sims, it's a fool's errand to "make money" in the private island business. Otherwise known as a passionate hobby.

If I worked the same amount of hours at the local McDonalds, I'd make far more for less effort and less drama.

I really think Desmond's model for Caledon is an intriguing way of building community on SL. He has nice, quiet themed sim that isn't infested with dancing zombies or $L-sucking casinos. Commerce is allowed, but there's a strict policy on what you can or can't do. None of this subletting land there, turning it into a mini-mall with giant rotating signs. I got a very clear pricing and community guidelines upfront.

I'm very new to Caledon, but so far I am enjoying it very much.

Of course, Victorian quasi-roleplay isn't going to be everybody's cup of tea. (Ha!) I honestly hope to see more themed areas like this in SL. For example, someone I know created an aviator-themed area for furries that is doing well. (Think Aerodrome but with tails and ears.) Stuff like this could help combat the lack of DI and now traffic/dwell.

Now that LL is changing the dynamics of the game, people will have to adapt.

Yes, I know people have had themed sims before this, and this isn't anything new; But islands themselves are going to have to be more service-oriented, instead of just pretty to look at, or have passive forms of payout (such as clubs or camping chairs). Dwell abuse isn't going to go away as long as Find entries continue to be sorted by that value, but it will be a bit harder now to justify such passivity on part of the land owners...

Gonna be some interesting next few months.