Normally I’m not one for hyperbole, but the way 2021 has started it seems as though 2021 might be one of the biggest years ever for sales in the domain name secondary market. So far we’ve seen what was likely one of the biggest domain sales ever when Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation bought Home.com (although the exact amount may never be known), Christmas.com was sold for over $3 million and just yesterday Bird.com and Fish.com were reportedly bought at auction by the same buyer for over $4.5 million (Update: there is an ongoing legal battle over the auction of Bird.com and Fish.com). Here at DomainAgents, we’ve already brokered several six figure deals this year and just in terms of number of offers, February has been one of our busiest months ever.
So what’s going on? There are likely a number of things at play. Right now there is a lot of optimism about the end of the pandemic and the hope of a big recovery by the end of the year. Tech companies, who often are big buyers of premium domains, have done particularly well during the pandemic as more activity has been forced online. Low interest rates and stimulus spending by governments around the world have made some leery about traditionally safe investments like government bonds and cash is cheap. Relatedly, the price of Bitcoin has also exploded as businesses and people look for other places to put their money.
All in all, it may be something of a perfect storm. One advantage that domains have over some other alternative assets is that they have intrinsic utility. As online presence becomes more and more important, your domain becomes more and more important as well. That value will outlast any post-pandemic boom or bust.
Making predictions is particularly difficult right now, but it definitely looks like we’re in for a wild ride.
Ryan McKegney
CEO, DomainAgents
DomainAgents Blog 