After over a year of research and development and months of beta testing, Artnet has announced that its first generation of Market Performance Reports are now available for purchase online. Users may have immediate access to charts and graphs on over 4,300 of the most important artists driving the global auction market since 1988.

These reports compile yearly information from the Artnet Price Database and provide a visual and numerical portrayal of important market movements in bar chart and index form. Whether used to price art for buying or selling, for insurance or taxes, or for industry research, the artnet Market Performance Reports are concise quantitative snap shops of key market metrics. They include:

1. Global auction sales
This chart shows total sales volume of all lots recorded in Artnet's Price Database for the reports that you select, including sales transactions from hundreds of the most important auction venues in the world. Sales volume trends for an artist provide an insight into market demand for the artist's work and suggest market liquidity and volatility when considered in conjunction with lot transactional data.

2. Top 10 lots sold
This chart provides prices for the top 10 lots sold each year and shows the portion of total sales that the top 10 represents. The highest priced works for an artist are usually a good measure of the market strength for that artist. This data is also useful when analyzing the possible effect of exceptionally high priced works on other market measurements such as average prices and total sales volume. It may suggest the depth of the market, a key measure of liquidity. Note that for statistical methodology reasons, reported sales prices include an adjustment for estimated buyers' premiums when only the auction hammer price is reported by the auction house. In such cases, sales prices may not match those recorded in Artnet's Price Database.

3. Lots sold and bought-in
An important measure of market demand and liquidity in the art market is not only how many art pieces are offered for sale, but the proportion of pieces that were bought-in. Bought-in lots are those lots that did not sell for at least the "reserve" price, which is a confidential minimum price set by the seller and the auction house prior to the sale. This stacked-bar chart provides a visual guide that shows the bought-in trend as well as actual lot numbers in the accompanying table.

4. Average sale price and mean estimate
This chart shows average prices compared with mean auction estimates. Average prices are total sales divided by total lots sold. Mean estimates are the average of the high and low estimate provided by the auction house prior to the sale. In cases where an estimate range is not provided, we use the auction house estimate number as the mean estimate. In cases where an estimate number and range are not provided, we eliminate the lot transaction from the averages calculations. Trends in the relationship between auction house estimates and actual prices achieved show market demand dynamics and may suggest upward and downward influences on future price levels and relative liquidity.

5. Lots sold for more than the high estimate and lots sold for less than the mean estimate
This price segmentation chart portrays the percentage of sales that were transacted above the high estimate, compared with those that sold below the mean estimate. In cases where no high or mean estimate is provided by the auction house, the lot transaction remains in the denominator of the calculation. Trends in either direction assist with analyses of market momentum and may indicate buying and selling windows in light of market demand.

6. Normalized sales, lots and price data
Normalized information equates data of any kind to a base-year starting point (usually 100) and then shows percentage increases and decreases through time relative to the base year as the underlying data changes. The three indices portrayed on this chart show yearly increases and decreases in total sales volume, total lots sold and average sales prices, providing a visual snapshot of related market dynamics. For example, an increase in total sales may result from an increase in number of lots sold, despite a reduction in average sales price. Total sales could also decline as average price increases and lots decrease. These market movements may suggest buying and selling strategies for seasoned collectors and art investors.

7. Monthly searches on the Artnet Price Database
Trends in the search activity on the Artnet Price Database provide a valuable look at the level of interest that art industry insiders have in specific artists. Our subscribers include thousands of collectors, galleries and art advisors and over 500 leading art institutions that use this auction market data for appraisals, auction estimates and private art transactions. Interest in an artist among these key industry players, or lack thereof, may ultimately contribute to market demand dynamics. Chart 7 shows search metrics for artists during the most recent 12 months prior to the date of your report, without regard to medium categories.

Artnet Market Performance Reports are available for the various mediums in which an artist may work. These include reports for paintings, sculpture, prints, works on paper and photographs (prints, which are traded in larger numbers and lower prices, have different trading dynamics and so are excluded). The Market Performance Reports are sold on an individual basis for $50 per report, or in packages of 10, 25, 50 and 100 reports on a sliding price scale. Like subscriptions to Artnet's signature Price Database, institutional discounts are possible, depending on volume of usage. Interested parties should contact Sonja Sanne at (212) 497-9700 ext. 383, or via email at .

Existing subscribers for the Artnet Price Database or for Market Alert may use their current login, password and account information to access the artnet Market Performance Reports service. New users may go to the Market Trends page on www.artnet.com and create a new account. All reports are stored on the Artnet servers under "My Saved Reports" for easy access by login and password for one year from the date of purchase.

For further information, email Sonja Sanne at