We've just finished crunching the numbers for the 16,731 domain sales reported to us in 2011 (5% more transactions than were reported to us in 2010), including the numbers for the final quarter of 2011. With that information in hand, we can now share 2011 full year and 4th quarter sales comparisons with you so you can see how the market fared in the year just past versus the previous one (2010).

While more transactions were reported to us in 2011, the total dollar volume of those sales was down from 2010 for both the year as a whole and the 4th quarter vs. 4Q-2010. There are two reasons for that. The biggest one is that the gargantuan sale of Sex.com for $13 million (the largest cash sale ever reported) was logged in 4Q-2010 giving both that quarter and 2010 as a whole a giant head start vs. 2011. The other is that median sale prices (the point at which half of reported sales were higher and half lower) dipped in all categories in 2011.

We believe slipping median prices were a result of the dramatic decline in PPC prices that carried a double whammy. Lower revenue streams dropped the value of domains being sold on the basis of traffic alone. In addition, the drop in PPC revenue forced many portfolio owners to sell off some 

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of their domains to make up for lower parking revenue. With more domains being put on the market by motivated sellers, the median prices were bound to take a hit.

However, reported sales allow us to give you thousands of specific examples of what given domain names have sold for. In addition, though those sales represent just the tip on the aftermarket iceberg, the data sample is large enough to give you at least a rough idea of current market trends overall. While reviewing our numbers also note that we track only notable sales, using .com sales starting at $2,000 and all other extensions starting at $1,000 as our baselines. Since our data does not include the lower end of the market the median sales prices from our database are higher than medians would be if we tracked the huge number of two and three digit sales they are made each week.

Sex.com had an even bigger impact on comparisons between 4Q-2011 and the previous year. Buoyed by Sex.com, the total dollar value of sales reported in 4Q-2010 was $40.9 million. In 4Q-2011 that number was just $23.7 million, a whopping 42% decline. Without Sex.com, the 4Q-2010 number would have been chopped to $27.9 million, still ahead of 4Q-2011 but by a much lower margin. 

Reported sales volume for ccTLDs was also down, sliding 24% from $22.3 million in 2010 to $17 million in 2011. However, the median sales prices for country code domains held up better than any other category, coming in at $2,000 in 2011, down just a hair from the $2,070 we saw in 2010. 

For the non .com gTLDs, the percentage decline was the least of any category, dipping 10% from $11.4 million in 2010 to $10.2 million in 2011. Median sale prices for non .com gTLDs were off by the same percentage, drifting down to $1,800 in 2011 after being at $2,000 in 2010. 

Now let's look at the final quarter of 2011 to see how it compared to both the same quarter a year ago and the previous quarter (3Q-2011). I noted the 4Q-2011 vs. 4Q-2010 total sales volume numbers above. 4Q-2011 was also down against the previous quarter but there was a much smaller difference there. 3Q-2011 total dollar volume reported was $25.5 million, leaving 4Q-2010 7% behind at $23.7 million.   

Looking at .coms only, 4Q-2011 ran a tight race against 3Q-2011 and wound up trailing by less than 3% with $17.5 million in 4Q-2011 vs. $18 million in 3Q-2011. Year over year Sex.com made it a different story giving .coms $31.9 million in 4Q-2010 vs. the $17.5 million recorded in the same quarter this year. Once again, most of that margin disappears with Sex.com out of the equation - that would have left 4Q-2010 .com sales reported at $18.9 million. With respect to median .com sales prices, 4Q-2011 came in at $3,188. That is better than the $3,002 recorded in 3Q-2011 but down from the $3,500 logged in 4Q-2010.

So, we have another year in the books. We find it interesting that anecdotally, many companies and individual sellers have told us 2011 was a good sales year for them (especially with respect to sales made under non disclosure agreements which tend to be the biggest sales). The fall off in total reported sales volume can be attributed to the very high end of the market. In addition to the impact of the Sex.com sale, there was a dearth of seven-figure sales reported in 2011 - you will find only three of them on our 2011 Top 100 Reported Sales chart and two of those barely made it - coming in at exactly $1 million each. So, even though fewer names are changing hands at that stratospheric level where few ever play anyhow, most sellers are reporting good results, especially in the market's mid-range. Now it's on to 2012 and we are looking forward to the story the new year has to tell.