Land sales or land auction?

I've finally decided to take the plunge and purchase a larger plot on the mainland (4,096m). Given current land prices (ouch), that's a purchase I want to make with some care, so I'm trying to be a little more thorough in my research this time around.

What difference is there in buying land from the SL Land auction versus buying land outright? Does one approach offer any bargains over the other?

And what kind of land is available through Land Auction? Is this only Linden land, or can anyone list land for auction? If so, why would an owner choose to do so? To sell fast rather than high?

Also, any general tips on gotchas for buying mainland would be much appreciated.

Just for the record, I've already decided against buying on an island because I want enforcable ownership rather than ownership on the honor system. Also, I balk at covenant restrictions. I want the freedom to use the land according to my current whims -- maybe residential, maybe commercial if I develop the products over time.

When you find a nice piece of land through land sales (really for sale, no renting)... you like the location... you like the price, then I would do just one thing.... Hit "buy".

That is how I got my first piece of land and I slowly extended it (which is harder these days, I have to admit).

Prices on auctions tend to go high... specially if there is someone who really wants the spot.

Morwen.

Auction land is sold by LL only. Residents can't sell land on the auction. There are some 3rd party sites that allow residents to sell at auction, but as far as I've seen they aren't used very much.

Linden auction land is land that was reclaimed by LL after its previous owner abandoned either the land, their account, or failed to put sufficient tier into the group owning the land.

As far as advice goes, I think you can get good deals on both the auction and in-world through search. The key is to be patient, know what you want, act quickly, and look frequently.

Reasonably-priced land sells quickly in-world--sometimes in minutes. So, you have to keep a constant eye on the market and be ready to buy it as quickly as possible. This is only possible if you know exactly what you're looking for and at what price.

Send me an IM, Regan. I've got a lot of different land that I can show you, some of which is in new class 5 servers. In fact, if anyone sees land that I'm selling, send me an IM and I'll be happy to give you a discount.

Great! I'll contact you inwordl tonight or sometime this weekend.

I'm still waiting for the infusion of funds to work it's way from my bank to PayPal, so I can't make a high L$ transaction until Tuesday or Wednesday. In some ways that's a blessing because it will stop me from impulse buying before I've had a chance to scope out the range of lands prices in SL.


Key word appears to be "reasonable." There are plots of land around my house in Rumgally that have been up for sale for weeks, if not longer. The obnoxious flashing sky signs are really pissing me off because they've become a permanent fixture on the horizon. So I'm assuming those prices are distinctly UNreasonable, which is somewhat encouraging. I've been basing my expected costs on those prices, but it appears that may be a worst-case comparison for my purchase.