SL, Quo Vadis? Expansion of yellow parcels

[martinmoun]

Hello communmity,

I joined SL in 2005, left 2010 and came back 2016. The past 18 months it feels like people "emigrate" / flee from SL. Locations that used to be very popular and always crowded are simply empty. I wasn't sure if this is just my my subjective view, but today I saw the map of Eden/Fruitland/Northsea (to me, one of the most attractive places in SL) and I was shocked - by not only the amout of empty parcels, but the speed how fast people obviously have left.

Is this a "regional" problem or does it represent the (drastically decreasing) number of active accounts?

best regards,
Martin.

Edited September 29, 2019 by martinmoun
typos

[Theresa Tennyson]

6 hours ago, martinmoun said:

Hello communmity,

I joined SL in 2005 and came back 2016. The past 18 months it feels like people "emigrate" / flee from SL. Locations that used to be very popular and always crowded are simply empty. I wasn't sure if this is just my my subjective view, but today I saw the map of Eden/Fruitland/Northsea (to me, one of the most attractive places in SL) and I was shocked - by not only the amout of empty parcels, but the speed how fast people obviously have left.

Is this a "regional" problem or does it represent the (drastically decreasing) number of active accounts?

best regards,
Martin.

 

There are now large numbers of new Linden homes, including houseboats/water access, that are extremely popular. Water access is less "special" now.

https://community.secondlife.com/forums/forum/357-linden-homes/

[martinmoun]

Lindenhomes? Popular? Competing with the quality level of Fruitland? Are you serious?

Edited September 29, 2019 by martinmoun

[Cindy Evanier]

5 minutes ago, martinmoun said:

Lindenhomes? Popular? Competing with the level Fruitland? Are you serious?

Follow the Linden Homes forums.  You'll see

[martinmoun]

Ok, in other words: People migrate from private estates to Lindenhomes in a large number?

[Chic Aeon]

7 hours ago, martinmoun said:

s this a "regional" problem or does it represent the (drastically decreasing) number of active accounts?

It could very well be regional. The private lands where I live seem to be full most of the time and when empty they fill up within a few days.  

[martinmoun]

16 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

It could very well be regional. The private lands where I live seem to be full most of the time and when empty they fill up within a few days.  

 

 

 I doubt that you can see "land for sale" at this zoom level.

Still, many locations seem to be less crowded month by months.

[Clara Hollyberry]

Land for sale is big business in SL, has been for as long as I have been here. Land for sale is not necessarily vacant; it could be simply waiting to turn a profit (or other variables).  Even abandoned vacant land still gets logins from previously-homed avatars who still play even if they don't financially control that parcel.

 I think yellow on a parcel is not the whole story; one can't draw conclusions just from that.

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, martinmoun said:

 

 I doubt that you can see "land for sale" at this zoom level.

Still, many locations seem to be less crowded month by months.

Those are all homestead islands and up close you can see any that are "available".  There are rarely any  but they do show up yellow when you zoom in. My sim's name is STRAND so you can check up close on the map and move around to see.  :D.

 

And I do agree with the other comments that  we KNOW many people sold off their mainland parcels and abandoned private lands to move to Bellisseria == which if you aren't after a large parcel AND are patient or lucky or cunning enough to get one is pretty much the best deal around. Equivalent to a 2048 plot if you count the bonus land impact of the house and the plants and such) as well as all the buffer areas. I am sure that has had some effect on smaller rental parcels. I know of one long time land rental agent on mainland that has given up some of their holdings. 

Edited September 29, 2019 by Chic Aeon

[Maitimo]

18 hours ago, martinmoun said:

Hello communmity,

I joined SL in 2005, left 2010 and came back 2016. The past 18 months it feels like people "emigrate" / flee from SL. Locations that used to be very popular and always crowded are simply empty. I wasn't sure if this is just my my subjective view, but today I saw the map of Eden/Fruitland/Northsea (to me, one of the most attractive places in SL) and I was shocked - by not only the amout of empty parcels, but the speed how fast people obviously have left.

Is this a "regional" problem or does it represent the (drastically decreasing) number of active accounts?

best regards,
Martin.

The number of concurrent users online is declining but very slowly, as far as I can see. Figures aren't published any more but I see them whenever I log in, and it doesn't seem to have moved much in the last few years.

But the new Linden Homes, which went online just under 6 months ago, are VERY popular, there is much wailing and anguish from people still on the waiting list who don't have one yet. And perhaps more significantly, once people have a Linden Home, they are making it their permanent residence; they're not using it as a temporary stage until they get something else. This is going to have quite a big impact on mainland and rentals.

I abandoned mine and went back to mainland, but very few people are doing that.

However, what you show here is very unusual. That looks like a land-baron in trouble. Actually it looks like Blake Sea; in which case the most likely reason is that everyone has priced their parcels WAY too high for the available demand.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Matty Luminos

[Aethelwine]

It's the fruit\North Sea not the Blake USS sailing sims. I too expressed some concern about what seems to have happened there, but I have been reassured it looks much worse than it is. These sort of sims are expensive because rent has to cover vacancies and free prims for vehicle access. I have been told that in the case of the fruit islands it is looking worse because under the previous ownership the number of vacancies was hidden by policy and choice.

It would be a real shame if we lose a community that has been here so long. 

[Aethelwine]

Matty, you make a few sweeping statements about the impact of Bellisseria on mainland, but unless you have access to some data to back it up it can't be much more then conjecture. A lot of people in Bellisseria have multiple homes and always will, others have been introduced to the joys of travelling and now rent land or boating slips where they didn't before. The impact of Bellisseria will vary wildly from person to person, any generalisations on the topic should be very cautious. 

[Christhiana]

I live in the lower delta of heterocera and while I see lots of parcels for sale here,  a lot of them are not vacant unused spaces. It seems to me a lot of people make up an amount of lindens that would make them sell their parcel and add a little on top of it and set it for sale. I don't think they are looking to sell, but everything has it's price and just in case some wealthy spend happy resident comes along and sees his/her slice of paradise in their parcel, they set it for sale at a ridiculous price. Another part of the parcels for sale seem to be rentals that are also set for sale. Some are empty, some have a nice decor and some are rented out and being used. I think the yellow areas on the map don't tell the whole story...

[Hunny Bunny]

It's only worth what someone will pay, simple supply and demand. Times changed when LL reduced Mainland costs by over 10 percent, increased prim allowances and moved forward with increased Marketplace commissions, Linden Dollar exchange fees, and cashout fees. While I'm sure some "Land Barons" passed along some of the savings maybe some others still need to reevaluate their business model. There's plenty of other threads discussing the vast amount of abandoned mainland that is available but nobody seems too concerned that it might lose any of it. What Bellisseria has brought to many people with much success is that coveted water access. That little sliver of prims to float your boat and go for a swim that people pay through the nose for only to snip the outermost beach from and abandon the remainder to keep their tiers low. With a "plan to increase revenues in other ways so that we can lower land costs" maybe the days of charging L$4/prim or more for rent while mainland parcels can be found for .5L$/prim are coming to an end as people find value where before they did not.

[martinmoun]

2 hours ago, Matty Luminos said:

I abandoned mine and went back to mainland, but very few people are doing that.

 

Matty, can you show me an "acceptable" region on Mainland? I've looked many times. The land looks like a mix of SL 2006 and Teengrid.

Are there any "worth living" areas? I'm curious. IM me inworld, I'd really like to see.

[Lindal Kidd]

Martin, see my signature.

[Therese Tammas]

On 9/30/2019 at 5:23 AM, martinmoun said:

 

Matty, can you show me an "acceptable" region on Mainland? I've looked many times. The land looks like a mix of SL 2006 and Teengrid.

Are there any "worth living" areas? I'm curious. IM me inworld, I'd really like to see.

Bay City and Storybook Heights. I currently also rent at Faracity, which is a beautiful ocean neighborhood. There's so many little good places, you just have to look!

[ChinRey]

Since somebody reopened this thread: Northeast Sansara. I've been running a small rental estate centered at Coniston and Keswick since 2014, all rural English and deisgned to complement my neighbors' builds wchih tend to be continental European.

In addition to my rentals (of course), there are qutie a few parcels for sale at Derwent right now since one of the bigger ladnwoners there quit a month or two ago. I'm hoping and praying for good considerate neigbors...

[Beth Macbain]

I just purchased land on Heterocera yesterday and the areas around me are pretty gorgeous. Everything seems very lived in and up to date. I had a very bland impression of mainland until I really started exploring, and now I've fallen in love with it.

And yes, I have two Linden Homes as well. 

It's my belief that the popularity of the new Linden Homes has reignited interest in mainland. 

[Sister Nova]

12 hours ago, Beth Macbain said:

I just purchased land on Heterocera yesterday and the areas around me are pretty gorgeous. Everything seems very lived in and up to date. I had a very bland impression of mainland until I really started exploring, and now I've fallen in love with it.

And yes, I have two Linden Homes as well. 

It's my belief that the popularity of the new Linden Homes has reignited interest in mainland. 

I wish you well with your new land!

I still have a camper at Belli, though let my traditional house go as I wasn't using it and thought someone else would benefit from it.

My main home is in Sansara (my owned land), but I also have rentals in Sansara, Heterocera and Jeogeot as I love having places I can travel to and spend time at. I'll be sure to wave if I see you in Heterocera as I travel around

[Beth Macbain]

2 hours ago, Walpurgisnacht said:

I wish you well with your new land!

I still have a camper at Belli, though let my traditional house go as I wasn't using it and thought someone else would benefit from it.

My main home is in Sansara (my owned land), but I also have rentals in Sansara, Heterocera and Jeogeot as I love having places I can travel to and spend time at. I'll be sure to wave if I see you in Heterocera as I travel around

Thank you, and please do! I don't have a kitchen yet, but as soon as I do, I'll certainly invite you in for a cup of coffee!