Chinese domain name investors have a preference for short 2 to 5 number (N) .com domain names while American investors have a preference 2 and 3 letter (L) .com domains according to the latest Liquid Domains Market Overview from domain name broker GGRG for the first quarter of 2017, which analysed the 586,848 .com domains they consider liquid in the first quarter of 2017.
The analysis of the sales data for the first time includes the total sales volume recorded by Escrow.com which provides additional insight into the higher value categories like 2L, 3L and CC (character) .com domains. 2N and 3N data was withheld for confidentiality reasons.
The report found notable differences in what domain names were popular in what markets. For example the report found for LL.com domains 52.66% of all transactions were from US investors and registrants while 21.60% were from China. However for NN.com domains 53.00% were from China and 40.00% were from the US.
Likewise for 3L.com and 3N.com domains. More transactions were from the US (52.88%) than China (17.65%) for 3L.com domains and for 3N.com domains it was 45.90% and 47.80% respectively. For 4N.com domains there was an overwhelming preference from Chinese investors with 61.56% of sales going to the Chinese and 29.86% to Americans, while 5N.com was similar (58.58% to China and only 11.48% to the US). For 4L.com domains there was a slight preference to US buyers (36.04% to 32.58%).
The included Escrow.com data ($16M in reported transactions in Q1) should largely be viewed as a complement to the sales reported by ShortNames.com ($8M this quarter) and not as a wider substitute. This is because many disclosed transactions in the lower value categories (3L, 4L, 5N) take place through auction platforms or marketplaces that do not necessarily use Escrow.com.
While the market is still uncertain, in the forecast section of the report from GGRG it was noted there was not any significant market movement towards the level of transactions and prices of 2015.
The reported noted the trend inversion in the development index might suggest the price of liquid domains might be starting to become attractive again for end users. It is interesting to note they’re not seeing large losses on the floor prices. As they’ve predicted in prior reports, they’re seeing a decrease in values for the more expensive “Chinese Premium” domains, especially the 3L .com domains which lost almost 50% from their peak and are now trading at values closer to the “Western Premium” 3L domains.
To download the GGRG Liquid Domains report in full, see:
ggrg.com/industry-report/
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