Pricing of IPv4 addresses over the last few months has taken an interesting turn. In recent years, the price per address for small blocks (/17 and smaller) has been greater than the price per address of large blocks (/16 and larger). From June 2020 through August 2021, the price gap between large and small blocks ranged from 2.4% to 17.5%. This dynamic led to sellers breaking up /16 blocks to be sold in multiple transactions of smaller blocks since this netted more per address for the seller.

2022 has seen the inverse of that, with larger blocks selling for a higher price per address. May 2022 has seen the continuation of this trend with an average price of $54.47 per IP address, up from April’s average of $54.25 per address (See the figure above). Conversely, while the price for large blocks has been experiencing an increase, small and medium-sized blocks have been decreasing in price through 2022. This resulted in a widened gap in prices after December 2021 of 1.1% in January 2022 to 7.5% in April 2022.

Given this trend, buyers and sellers may want to adjust their buy/sell strategies and make appropriate adjustments. Current trends indicate that the price of large blocks will remain higher than small and mid-sized blocks in the short term as high demand for these large blocks encourages a higher price per address. 

With the current pricing pattern, both buyers and sellers should reassess their strategy to better reflect their needs in the IPv4 market. For instance, buyers may ask themselves if it is a better strategy to purchase four /18s for a lower price or one /16, which may be more convenient, could be completed faster, and incur only one transfer fee. For a seller who owns a /16 and only uses a small portion of this space, such as a /20, should they buy a /20 and sell the entire /16, or should they sell the unused portion of the /16 in smaller blocks? 

The best strategy for a buyer or seller depends on their needs and the market. Since the market is fluid, with changes occurring regularly, it may be advisable for anyone considering the market to monitor it regularly. IPv4.GLOBAL’s online market and its full historical record of prices are available online.

The support team at IPv4.Global can help you with any marketplace questions and can help execute a strategy that best meets your needs. Contact us at (212) 610-5601 or [email protected].