by Heather DelCarpini
[Sedo just released its Q2 market study today. In this guest post, Sedo marketing manager Heather DelCarpini explains where the domain name aftermarket is heading.]
Sedo’s Market Study for Q2 2011 reveals the strongest quarter in over a year, after excluding the record-breaking sale of sex.com for $13m in Q4 2010. Median prices for all gTLDs increased across the board, with some notable .com sales in the form of datacenter.com ($352,000), consolidation.com ($200,000), and Sedo’s third-highest sale of all time, gambling.com ($2.5 million).
In spite of the number of domains sold remaining consistent with the previous quarter, Sedo’s Domain Marketplace reached a total sales value in dollars of close to $25m, an increase over the first quarter of the year, during Q2. In other words, although sales volume was virtually identical, there was a notable increase in sales prices, revealing the strength of the domain market for both domain sellers and investors alike.
Although we might take for granted the fact that .com will remain the strongest contender for investment opportunities or business needs—accounting for 52% of all Q2 2011 sales—it is also noteworthy that new TLDs such as .co have jumped into the top ten. Though only a 2% market share, .co has become an invaluable substitute for .com and other generic top-level domains, and seems poised to increase its market share over the coming quarters. In addition, ICANN’s recent approval of the new gTLD handbook means that newer domain extensions will no doubt make an appearance in future Market Studies.
The marketplace has also shown an increase in fixed price, Buy Now sales, signaling a change in the way that many end-users approach domain purchases. Though Offer-Counteroffer and
Marketplace Auctions remain at the top, 15% of all sales take place as Buy Now purchases. Coupled with the fact that most domain sales take place in the 2- to 3-figure range, it seems clear that potential buyers are moving toward faster purchases from sellers listing domains with Buy Now prices.
Above all, the Q2 Market Study shows a significant increase in median sales prices for all gTLD sales. During 2010, the median .com sales price ranged between $510 and $650; in Q2 2011, the median was $700. Similarly, .net, .org, .biz, and .info all saw higher medians than the previous quarter. In terms of average sales prices this quarter, .com domains were going for $3,114, an increase of more than six hundred dollars on the previous quarter.
For both sellers and buyers, Sedo’s Market Study for Q2 2011 holds good news: sales prices are up, but so are Buy Now sales. The domain market remains strong, while prices have stayed in a range that most businesses or end-users can afford.
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