Cool post Sara.  I didn't know you could take screenshots from within SecondLife.  Our land has quadrupled?  Lets sell!!!

On another note, I am not too thrilled about this marketing gimmick.  Does anyone really care about a house on SecondLife.  How is it going to help sell a home?  I like the idea of stodgy real estate companies pushing the envelope but would like to see them do it in a more relevent way. 

Jonathan dear,

You try being over 100 years old and not being stodgy. ;)

Part of being relevant correlates to the business model you're committed to and the real estate strategy you think is the wisest. Being a rooted company, technological innovation may be more difficult to implement than a quick-on-your-feet younger or smaller company. On another note, Second Life does have 8.6 million users, so it doesn't seem like such a bad strategy to me.

Great post with some terms I want to learn more about!!

Very interesting.  Can I wire Monopoly money to buy the home?

Interesting technology, Sara - thanks for sharing! Will be curious to see where it goes. The need to download the software, to me, seems at this time to limit it's applicability. 

Jeff

I visited this site a few months ago. I thought it was hard to manipulate, but it was probably just me. I like the screen shots you did, I will see how it all unfolds.8.6 million viewers is a lot of people.

Sarah, I actually think Coldwell is on to something. I have been intrigued with second life for awhile. There is certainly something to this virtual world stuff. It may not be second life that get's it right but someone will. 

Sara, very neat.  Cool post!  I have checked out Second Life, but honestly have not had enough time to really poke around

Hi Dawn!

Brian, that'll be quite a few monopoly boxes you'll have to buy to come up with that much cash... 

Hi Jeff!

Downloading software is a drawback if viewing an MLS listing is the only reason a visitor patronizes Second Life.

The size of a virtual world like Second Life makes it impossible to operate merely on RAM (short term memory)... It's applicability isn't so much in non-Second-Lifers logging in to check a few things out, its value lies with the current 8.6 millions users to date. (When I joined last summer, Second Life had 600,000 users...) Second Life is very much an interactive world similar to real life. Products are bought and sold like real life, real estate sales thrive (although on a much smaller dollar scale), and there are distinct social and cultural communities as exist in real life. The draw to Second Life and the move to download software isn't about viewing a real life listing, it's the Second Life culture and social opportunities in themselves. Meaning, Coldwell Banker is likely not concerned with bringing new users to Second Life, but with reaching those people already using Second Life and those people who are likely to participate in it.

Missy, it takes a while to get used to how the controls move. It was probably worse for me, because I skipped "Help Island" where newbies can learn how to maneuver around. 

Bryant, yes, soon we may be meeting and doing business with people all over the world in virtual 3D formats. Many large companies already hold cross-border meetings in Second Life. Second Life also rolled over voice-over options, so that users can speak with each other in Second Life just as in real life.

Brian B,

No time?  LOL Second Life can take a long time to get up in running, regarding figuring everything out. I also have a time problem in that regard. I participate in Second Life to attend Philosophy group discussions, but I am missing more meetings than attending, heheheh. 

Thanks for the tip not to skip "help island".  I could use a Second Life about now.

Sara,

thank you for taking the time to read my Second Life blog and leaving a fantastic comment. I did not read this blog (obviously) before I wrote mine. I have added an edit with a link to this blog.

In my virtual world, there will be no shortage of qualified buyers and every client will have fabulous sense of humor. They will also take me to five star lunches that have no calories....

I signed up for Second Life a year ago, traded some real dollars for Linden funds...and was promptly pulled from the virtual world by demands from the real one.  

Now that is a huge listing on Second Life...is a license required to sell real estate on SL or just the know how? I've got a profile but havent done much that that.

LOL Roberta! Second Life is great, but there's no time! Good to hear Real Life demands are keeping you busy :)

Toby, no license at all required. But there's no MLS, so to operate as an SL Agent you are forced to stay on top of market conditions either by "previewing" a lot of properties regularly and by tracking homes currently on the market listed for sale. As far as what they go for, sales prices are not recorded, but most SLers will be kind enough to tell you what they paid if you just ask. (Most may not remember precisely, so you may get a rough estimate). From my own experience, it seems either that agents price land exorbitantly high and then are willing to negotiate down (by about 20-30%) or that they price it just where they want it and won't negotiate one Linden (that's SL currency for dollar. Linden to Dollar exchange rate as of today is $1 US = 186 Linden).

However, most of what I've seen regarding real estate agents in SL is that they are more of property flippers... they'll buy something for a good price and flip it at a higher price. Some make a killing that can be measured in real US dollars. Second Lifer Ansche Chung was rumored a while ago (also appeared in real life press) to be netting several hundred thousand a year US from Second Life business operations as a real estate agent...