I did not want to hijack the "More Auctions" thread with this post...

I have been on a land holding expansion of sorts lately. It started when I sold almost all of my land to get out of a tier level. Although most of the land sold, one relatively small plot was not selling and I planned to hold out for my price, so I decided to use my tier for land that I was planning to use anyway.

I requested some land to go to auction and almost lost it near the end of the auction when the bids caused the price to go over L$10/meter!

It looks like the absence of land store is starting to have an impact on demand for mainland land. Auctions seemed to offer some relief for pent-up demand for relatively inexpensive land (private islands are the cheapest for lots of at about L$5.3 per meter).

It seems, based on my experience, that some mainland land is still very desirable. The halt on adding new islands could be good for increasing population density on the mainland as people move there for land to use for potentially adding interesting content.

If you have not tried a land auction before, you should! You could pick up a bargain. In my case, I really wanted the plot I was bidding on since I had plans for it before I bought it, so I was prepared to go rather high. Auction-based plots could have good resale potential.

The auction process was fast and seamless from payment to claiming the land - no problems at all.

-2fast

Yeah, I've been watching this kinda close... I'm afraid of a backlash though.

Nobody really stopped ordering islands; I sure didn't! Word on the street seems to be that the buyers simply went through email and got in the island buying queue like I did.

So... what happens when all these island backorders get filled?

I'm guessing we'll have a glut of the worst kind: cheap island land. As in: for $L 0 (zero) per sq. meter.

Starting cheap is understandable, it's a way for people to minimise risk for their tenants, but here is the difference:

- When you charge for private island land, you are competing with quality, and the customers you draw are generally from other private zoned areas. Usually fairly rich and discriminating customers who really have a handle on SL and often, a profitable in-world business.

- When you have 'free land' you are gonna draw from the mainland. People look at paying hundreds of dollars for mainland, look at 'free', see the zoning and water provided, and say: screw the mainland, here we come! The risk is mitigated by the $L 20k or whatever that they *didn't* pay up front.

Just from my experiences. I don't have hard stats, but it's kinda easy to see after a while.

__________________
- Desmond Shang


Steampunk Victorian, Well-Mannered Caledon: secondlife://caledon/190/190
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Very insightful comments, Desmond.

Some of the people I rent to on my island comment that they like the mainland because it is busier and enjoy the interaction but appreciate the peaceful environment islands offer.

It all depends on what we, as landowners, are trying to do - you allude to an important point in your last post: you need to understand your customers. The customer's need is ultimately what we cater our businesses towards which drives our choices.

I use my mainland as part of an overall tiered strategy that gives my customers the option to move through my rentals as their needs change. I have several guests that have moved up and down several times through my offerings, while others reached a plateau at a certain point (with some not moving beyond the most basic rentals) and have decided to stay there.

You are right about the competition in the land business - those that make buying and selling land their primary business are probably in for some interesting months ahead.

-2fast

Well, far be it from me to understand much of the complicated land business, EVER, but I did do a couple of things right, I think:

1. I bid on auction for Rosieri land. I had a top bid in mind, and I also played the bidding like I have played it on E-bay, and I ended up with the land at a good price for mature land on the mainland. (Less than I would have paid an individual - I think it was about $6 per square meter, but I don't recall exactly.) It was hair-raising, but I did it.

2. I "bought" land from Adam and Nexxus shortly after I joined SL, when they were still in Meins. Soon afterwards, they started Azure Islands, which, as you all probably know, is gorgeous.

Several times, people on the forums were calling those of us who "bought" land in this way fools, likely to be holding the bag if the owners absconded, "owning" nothing, etc. Well, I had taken all of 10 minutes with Adam and Zaius, when I was about 3 months old and saw their ad for Meins, saying that basics could "own" land, to decide that they weren't going to abscond, and if they ever did, it would still be money well spent.

I kept saying on the forums that my "owning" that land was an investment, that I believed in these guys and their ways with land and with people, and that if anything, I thought my investment had appreciated.

Well, yesterday, I noticed several plots on Azure Islands near me were showing up on the "buy land" parts of the map, as for sale. Which means that that thing LL was going to do so that people could easily buy from others who "own" land (that actually belongs to the island owner) has happened.

And assuming these properties are selling at the prices they are asking, they are selling for a lot more than I originally paid for mine, and mine is PRIME location, and a lot more desirable than theirs!

Not that I'm planning to sell. But if I did, my investment would pay off.

coco