I've been sitting on a story about RL estate agents (or realtors if you're from over the pond) bringing property listings to SL almost since I joined SLInsider. OpenMLS still says "Second Life listings coming soon" on their website, and news they're thinking about it just doesn't seem like a story. In the mean time, and first reported over on SLNN WSWWWWJJWW.Gabetti, an Italian real estate firm is exploring doing business in SL, and using it's real life expertise to do so. The firm has invested about US$130,000 and has 5 full-time employees scouring the grid, buying and selling land. They are viewing it as a research project, so making money is not vital, but predict breaking even by the end of the year.
So - let's assume they make a go of this, they certainly seem to be - how will the existing barons cope? None of them, except Anshe's "I'm a virtual millionaire" statement are particularly forthcoming about their income or their margins. That's not said as a criticism, but if margins are tight will Gabetti become the big name in the land market and depose Dreamland, Ravenglass and the like?
