Sedo, an online domain marketplace, has launched the Internet Domain Name Index (IDNX), a constant quality domain price index for the secondary domain marketplace.
Sedo (Search Engine for Domain Offers) said that the index offers domain name managers and investors unique insight into fluctuations in the domain name market.
The index has been developed by Berlin-based economist and Internet entrepreneur, Thies Lindenthal.
IDNX uses Sedo’s current and historical sales figures data, going back over the last six years.
The company said that IDNX can provide domain investors with critical insight into the current market value of domains, as well as highlighting domain industry trends.
The index exhibits a strong correlation between the domain name market and standard economic indicators, including changes in the NASDAQ 100 index and the stock prices of Internet giant Google.
Initial findings from IDNX shows that domain names saw a rapid increase in value from 2006 through to 2007, with prices peaking in November 2007, said the company.
The index showed that prices then saw a continued decline of 34% over the next 5 quarters, through 2007. However, the company said, since this decline into 2008 domain names have bounced back and seen continued strengthening and climbed to an all-time high in May 2011.
Thies Lindenthal said IDNX shows that Internet domain name prices have a clear economic foundation and are not detached from the general economy.
Lindenthal added, "On the contrary, domain price changes are very similar to changes in the NASDAQ 100 stock price index, for example. Therefore, domain prices reveal how investors evaluate current and future business opportunities on the web, making IDNX the fever curve of the Internet economy."
Sedo CEO Tim Schumacher said, "Lindenthal’s extensive research on domain pricing validates the domain name market and shows that domain markets are not a fantasy land where dreamers trade esoteric goods at imaginary prices.
"Domainers who use the insights IDNX offers and ancillary domain pricing tools to set fair and fixed prices on their domain names, ultimately help make our industry more valued and respected. In turn, this will continue to positively impact domain name sales."
