OWN A HOME IN YOUR SECOND LIFE

Ailin Graef– AKA Anshe Chung– works as a real estate developer. She buys property, develops it, resells it, and uses the profits to further her portfolio. Her business has rapidly snowballed, and she has just made her first million–although none of the “property” exists in the material world.  All the houses are virtual houses in the online video game Second Life– In an ironic twist of fate, shortly after the game came to market it was discovered that, as is true in real life, people needed somewhere to “live” in the game–which was great news for real estate agents such as Graef.

Second Life players can create and customize their own character and can buy, redecorate, and furnish property; run businesses; and interact with other players. Now Graef has become the first virtual-world millionaire (with real money). The currency used in the game is called Linden dollars, and the exchange rate is around $1 to 275 Linden dollars. The average going rate for land parcels in Second Life is between $100 and $1,000 and players can also buy virtual clothes, cars, and other accessories from a variety of in-game businesses.

Graef started with an initial investment of just $9.95 and developed her fortune over 32 months. She worked along the same principles as real estate developers do–she began by buying small amounts of virtual real estate, which she then subdivided and developed with landscaping and “themed architectural rebuilds.” She then resold or rented the property out for a profit.

In my opinion virtual realtors better get while the gettin’s good because as soon as Donald trump figures out how to use his PC… there’s going to be trouble. Virtual property worth real money? Jeez what’s next, property on the moon… Oh ya… never mind.
Got a ‘real’ estate question? Give me a call 250-537-6127

Brady Thomson, Royal Lepage Salt Spring Island

bradysthomson@gmail.com

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