Land Price Question

I do want to bring this up and it is what has gotten me to think more about this. Visit this site, read up and might you guys tell me what you think?

http://infomyth.com/sl/Guides/land_bubble.htm

Being new to selling and buying land, I'm not real sure I fully understand everything the writer is sharing. But I can understand enough to know that land may be a little more difficult than it might was once.

Thanks!

Would anyone suggest buying LL auction land at dirt cheap prices, "then" selling at market price? Maybe after things smooth out in SL as far as land goes? In fact I think it was mentioned in this thread somewhere already regarding that.?.

There was a lot of sound thinking in the Infomyth.com article, but I don't agree with all the author's conclusions.

Yes, there was a sort of land bubble. Prices soared as the supply of new land fell behind the demand from millions of new users. When I signed up in November, there were about ONE million SL residents; now there are more than EIGHT million. That's huge growth. I, and many others, capitalized on the land squeeze and made some good profits. The "market bottom" of land rose sometimes several L$/m2 a day; one could buy virtually ANY land at market prices and make a profit before the next tier date simply by selling at the new market prices. Many were selling at below market, not realizing that they could have sold just as fast for a higher price. Many speculators were buying and selling in a frenzy--yes, often to each other, as some had more liberal business models while others had more conservative models (though in fact few actually could articulate a "model"--people were just winging it and making money).

As LL increased the rate at which they auctioned off new sims, and as the growth rate in SL residents slowed, I and many others got out of the land business. The land bubble, if that's what you want to call it, didn't burst so fast as to wipe out profits for most land speculators. I'd bet most speculators ended their run with a large profit, but may have lost on some individual deals near the end.

Where I disagree with the article is that one should "never pay more than L$X for land." I advise people to be willing to pay double market rates or even more if it really matters WHICH land they own. If all they want is someplace to call their own, then by all means don't pay more than market bottom. But if they want beachfront property where the water view is Linden land or they own it and where they have access to navigable water and there are no clubs in the sim which is on a Class 5 server, then pay extra. If they want land with extra prims or unusual terrain editing privileges, then pay extra. If they want to live next door to their friend, then be willing to pay extra. If they just need the sims for more prims for an existing build, be willing to pay extra. Money is not everyone's highest value; find that level where you are happy with what you're getting for your money, and then be happy with what you get even if land may be had elsewhere for less--even if your exact parcel could have been had another time for less. I have never bought land for my own personal use at bottom dollar.

Over time, it is tier which ends up costing landowners more than initial purchase price.

There is still money to be made in land. It's just that it's too much like "work" now.

There's no such thing as auction land at dirt cheap prices. Auction land goes for market prices (e.g. retail prices for small parcels, a small percentage off full market price for entire sims).

More land dealers used to make money by buying land at below-market prices from people who just needed to sell right away, but they were hit hard by the landbots which can find underpriced land and buy it in the blink of an eye.