Home Gets a Second Look on 'Second Life'

SAN FRANCISCO -- Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC, which in March announced that it was getting into the business of selling and renting virtual homes in a Internet-based three-dimensional world called "Second Life," has further blurred the line between reality realty and virtual realty with a 3-D rendering of a for-sale home.

Company officials, during the Real Estate Connect SF conference on Thursday, demonstrated a 3-D likeness of an actual home for sale in Mercer Island, Wash. The newly constructed $3.1 million home is listed for sale by Coldwell Banker Bain.

Charlie Young, senior vice president of marketing for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, said in a statement today, "What makes this so unique is that prospective buyers can literally ‘tour’ this home from the comforts of their home and computer. Prospective buyers can get the most comprehensive view of the home possible short of actually visiting it."

Participants in the virtual world can walk through the rendered home using an animated character known as an avatar. Visitors who are interested in the real-world home can set up an appointment with a real-life sales agent or can visit www.coldwellbankervirtualhome.com for more information.

Coldwell Banker's marketing push in a virtual world has drawn mixed reactions -- with some industry participants questioning the value of going virtual and others applauding the entry of an established real estate company into the virtual World Wild West. "Second Life" users can buy and sell homes with in-world currency that can be converted to real-world dollars. They can also rent property, develop land and function as real estate agents.

We're not making this up: Corey Leong, a presenter at the Connect conference, discussed his participation in the creation of an OpenMLS in "Second Life" to facilitate the listing of virtual real estate there, and he's also working on education and training for virtual real estate professionals. Leong said that many real estate professionals would be blown away by the goings-on in "Second Life." "It is amazing how we're grieving over this dead market in the real world." He said there are people "just making money left and right" on "Second Life" real estate. "It's an absolute hot market."

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