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The
domain aftermarket may have turned a corner
in the 2nd quarter of 2013. We've just finished breaking
down the data for all sales reported to us in the
quarter that ended June 30 and almost all of the
key indicators either rose or held their own against the
previous quarter (1Q-2013), as well as the same quarter
a year ago (2Q-2012). The
key reference points - total dollar volume across
all extensions, total .com dollar volume
and the median sales price across all extensions all
rose from both year ago and previous quarter
levels. The
total $ volume of all sales reported to us in 2Q-2013
was $22.4 million. That is a 7% increase
over the $20.9 million reported in the same
quarter a |
Climbing
sales image from Bigstock
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The
total $ volume numbers for .com only were also up
in 2Q-2013, reaching $16.8 million - a 9% jump
from $15.4 million reported in the same quarter a year ago
and 4% better than the previous quarter (1Q-2013).
The numbers were also
better for what is probably the most accurate indicator of
market health - the median sales price (the point
at which half of all reported sales were higher and half
were lower). That is different than average sales prices
which can be skewed significantly by a small number of
blockbuster sales. In 2Q-2013 the median sales price across
all extensions reported to us was $2,750, a 2.3%
improvement over both 2Q-2012 and 1Q-2013 (the median
was $2,688 in both of those quarters).
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Dot
com image from Bigstock |
For the .coms
only, the median price was the only metric where
where the dominant extension was off a bit. The
median .com price in 2Q-2013 was $3,097,
almost identical to the $3,100 median in 1Q-2013,
but off 3% from the $3,188 .com media in the
same quarter a year ago.
(Editor's
Note: As always, we want to remind you that
we do not track sales below four figures (to
be specific we track .com sales of $2,000
and up and all other extensions from $1,000
or more). So, our median figures are higher than
they would be if we tracked the entire universe of
domain sales. Conversely, total dollar volume
reported to us is less than it would be if we
tracked sales at the lowest end of the market). |
Further evidence that the
market is turning came at the start of the current 3rd
quarter when two of the year's three biggest
sales to date were logged in early
July - 114.com at $2.1 million
and Body.com at $380,000. A few days from
now we will be reporting another major sale (that will
fall in between those two figures), another signed of
renewed activity at the ultra high end of the market after
a long drought.
Getting back to the latest
full quarter results (2Q-2013), another
indicator of increased market activity is the number of
transactions reported. In 2Q-2013 4,500
transactions across all extensions were reported to us - a
16% jump from the same quarter a year ago and
virtually identical to the 4,509 reported in the previous
quarter (1Q-2013). Looking at .com only, the 2,843
transactions reported in 2Q-2013 was a whopping 21%
increase from the 2,341 logged in the same quarter a
year ago and a couple of percentage points higher than the
2,789 reported in 1Q-2013.
| The non
.com gTLDs and the ccTLDs didn't fare
quite as well as the .coms in the latest quarter,
but still they each had some successes to celebrate.
For the ccTLDs the total reported $ volume in
2Q-2013 was $3.3 million, 6% less than
the $3.5 million reported in both 2Q-2013 and
1Q-2013. However, the country codes saw their median
prices go up. In 2Q-2013 the ccTLD
median price was $1,995, a nearly 5% jump
from the same quarter a year ago when it was $1,908
and 3% better than the 1Q-2013 median of
$1,937.
The non .com gTLDs
also enjoyed gains in their median price with the $1,999
median for 2Q-2013 representing a significant 18%
rise from the same quarter a year ago (when it
was $1,700) and an 11% increase over the
$1,800 median in the previous quarter (1Q-2013). In
terms of total $ volume, the non .com gTLDs posted
$2.2 million in 2Q-2013, matching the figure
that was reported in 1Q-2013 and improving
upon the 2Q-2013 total of $2 |
Domain
signs image from Bigstock |
| million
by 10%. The non .com gTLDs also saw a big
jump in the number of transactions with the 732 sales
reported in 2Q-2013 representing a 21% increase
over the 604 reported in the same quarter a year ago
and a nearly 7% rise from the 687 reported in
the previous quarter. |
Most of you follow the
general economic news so you know that in many corners of
the globe, especially in the U.S., recovery from
the Great Recession appears to be underway. That can only
be good news for domains and we are hopeful we will
have more such news to report when the the current 3Q-2013
results are in the books.
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