.realestate Pre-Register Domain - .realestate Domain Information

The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), The Voice for Real Estate®, is the world's largest professional association, representing greater than one million members over approximately 1,400 local associations/boards.

NAR is composed of REALTORS® who are involved in residential and commercial real estate as brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors, and others who are engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry. Consistent with its Vision, NAR strives to be the collective force influencing and shaping the real estate industry. It seeks to be the leading advocate of the right to own, use, and transfer real property; the acknowledged leader in developing standards for efficient, effective, and ethical real estate business practices; and valued by highly skilled real estate professionals and viewed by them as crucial to their success. Working on behalf of Americaʹs property owners, NAR provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system, and the right to own, use, and transfer real property.

REALTORS® are real estate professionals who are members of NAR and subscribe to NAR's Constitution, Bylaws and rules and regulations, including NAR's strict Code of Ethics. The Code establishes time-honored and baseline principles that come from the collective experiences of REALTORS® since the Code of Ethics was first established in 1913. In addition, REALTORS® earn designations and certifications to increase their skills, proficiency, and knowledge. Designations and certifications acknowledging expertise in various real estate sectors are awarded by NAR and its affiliated groups upon completion of required courses and experience. Most REALTORS® also join state and local associations, and subscribe to the rules and regulations of such state and local associations.

NAR firmly believes that establishment of a .REALESTATE top-level domain imbued with the Vision of NAR and the professionalism of REALTORS® will promote competition, consumer trust and consumer choice. The mission/purpose of .REALESTATE is to create a name space wherein users can come to find trusted sources for real estate information and ethical real estate services. With the intent to accomplish this purpose, NAR will permit NAR, REALTORS®, NAR members, NAR affiliates, NAR licensees and parties otherwise in a contractual relationship with NAR, the opportunity to register and/or use domain names in .REALESTATE under terms, policies and guidelines as NAR so determines in its sole discretion, consistent with any applicable ICANN Consensus Policies, ICANN's registry agreement, any applicable rules of law and NAR-approved guidelines.

NAR firmly believes that the .REALESTATE gTLD, as used to promote the above-stated mission/purpose, would provide benefit to Internet users in general (including, for example, home buyers, home sellers and others involved in real estate transactions), REALTORS®, NAR itself and its members, affiliates, licensee and contracted parties. In fulfilling .REALESTATE's mission/purpose, NAR, upon allocation of .REALESTATE, intends to explore ways of promoting adoption and use of .REALESTATE to fulfill the mission/purpose set forth above, and will likely obtain input from its members, affiliates, licensees, contracted parties and REALTORS® towards investigating many such ways.

One way of promoting adoption and use of .REALESTATE which NAR intends to explore includes providing support to REALTORS® in promoting their on-line real estate businesses by allowing individual REALTORS® to acquire domains at the second level. In this example, a REALTOR® who otherwise may not be able to obtain a second level domain of "my name" in a meaningful TLD will be able to obtain a marketing term or descriptive term at the second level of the .REALESTATE gTLD, which would be very useful to users and REALTORS® alike. This would promote competition in the TLD space by providing alternative domain options to REALTORS®.

In another example which NAR intends to explore, geographic terms not otherwise reserved from registration and/or use may be used at the second-level to provide listings of real estate in the area associated with the geographic term. In this regard consumer trust and choice are promoted by providing a trusted, easily accessible source for providing real estate-related information.

NAR recognizes that consumers associate the REALTOR® mark with membership in the National Association of REALTORS® and the associated level of professionalism and ethics in real estate services appurtenant to such membership. Consumers have come to trust real estate professionals who practice under the REALTOR® mark. NAR believes that NAR's stewardship of the .REALESTATE gTLD would extend that trust into the DNS namespace.

NAR believes that the .REALESTATE gTLD can provide a trusted and valued space similar to current consumer perception of the trust and value associated with REALTORS®, and that such trust and value is created in no small part by NAR's ability and willingness to protect the value and trust associated with REALTORS® both through the registration limitations set forth above and compliance with NAR's Vision. When a consumer visits a .REALESTATE domain, she can be assured that the registrant is associated with NAR as a member, affiliate or contracted party as set forth above.

Towards these missions/purposes, NAR has engaged DotRealEstate LLC to apply for, obtain and operate the .REALESTATE gTLD under direction from NAR.

NAR pledges to assist ICANN in reviewing the New gTLD Program as specified in section 9.3 of ICANN's Affirmation of Commitments as such relates to .REALESTATE and the materials set forth in this application, including consideration of the extent to which the .REALESTATE gTLD has promoted competition, consumer trust and consumer choice, as well as effectiveness of the application and evaluation process for .REALESTATE, and all safeguards put in place for .REALESTATE to mitigate issues involved in running .REALESTATE.

The proposed .REALESTATE gTLD will benefit registrants, Internet users and others by, among other reasons, providing a trusted and valued space for NAR, REALTORS®, NAR members, NAR affiliates, NAR licensees and other NAR-contracted parties to provide real estate related information. Use of the .REALESTATE gTLD under NAR's stewardship will provide new on-line opportunities for REALTORS®, other NAR-related entities and users alike.

NAR, REALTORS®, NAR members, NAR affiliates, NAR licensees and other NAR contracted parties will benefit from the .REALESTATE gTLD by having expanded domain options (an example of beneficial TLD competition). For example, a REALTOR® will be able to use a domain for marketing their services comprising a term which is inherently associated with the professional services offered, including the geographic location(s) of such offerings. Such an appropriate domain may not be available in other TLD's. NAR members, affiliates, licensees, etc. will further benefit from using a domain in a trusted, valued gTLD that is associated with NAR's Vision.

NAR-related entities will benefit from the .REALESTATE gTLD by having a new opportunity to provide real estate related services to NAR members and consumers alike. For example, NAR-related entities may provide content, such as real estate buying tips, or content services, such as real estate listings, to a NAR member's website at an appropriate .REALESTATE second-level domain.

Awareness of the existence of the .REALESTATE gTLD will also benefit Internet users -- such awareness will create new choice within the DNS for how to access and locate real estate-related information. Users will also benefit from the trusted, valued nature of the .REALESTATE space. Users can be confident that a domain in the .REALESTATE gTLD is associated with NAR, a REALTOR®, an NAR member, an NAR affiliate, NAR licensees and other NAR-contracted parties.

1. The goals of the .REALESTATE gTLD in terms of areas of specialty, service levels and reputation.

NAR and NAR members are associated with NAR's Vision and other professionalism in the provision of real estate services, and specifically with adherence with the strict Code of Ethics set forth by NAR. It is NAR's goal to continue such association under operation and use of the .REALESTATE gTLD. In this regard, NAR anticipates that the same level of specialty associated with its Vision and REALTORS® in the non-digital world, the same level of service provided in association with its Vision and REALTORS® in the non-digital world, and the same level of reputation associated with its Vision and REALTORS® in the non-digital world, will continue in the .REALESTATE gTLD.

NAR and NAR members are associated in a consumer's mind with NAR's Vision, NAR's reputation and the provision of professional real estate services by those members. Use of a .REALESTATE second level domain, under the stewardship of NAR, should bring forth the same association in the mind of the consumer. Nowhere is NAR's and reputation better exemplified than the Pledge of Performance and Service which is shared by all REALTORS®, which include the following elements:

a) To protect and promote their clients' interests while treating all parties honestly.

b) To refrain from exaggeration, misrepresentation, or concealment of pertinent facts related to property or transactions.

c) To not provide professional services where they have any present or contemplated interest in property without disclosing that interest to all affected parties.

d) To make sure that contract details are spelled out in writing and that parties receive copies.

e) To give equal professional service to all clients and customers irrespective of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, or national origin.

f) To be knowledgeable and competent in the fields of practice in which they engage or they get assistance from a knowledgeable professional, or disclose any lack of expertise to their client.

g) To paint a true picture in their advertising and in other public representations.

h) To not engage in the unauthorized practice of law.

i) To willingly participate in ethics investigations and enforcement actions.

j) To make only truthful, objective comments about other real estate professionals.

Use of a .REALESTATE second level domain, under the stewardship of NAR, should evoke the same reputation in the mind of the consumer.

2. What the .REALESTATE gTLD will add to the current space in terms of competition, differentiation and innovation.

Creation of .REALESTATE will provide competition to existing TLD's in the form of a new name space for registration of real estate-related domain names.

Over time, NAR anticipates a single dedicated name space under the unique .REALESTATE gTLD, in combination with the reputation and professionalism users associate with NAR, NAR members, affiliates, etc., will resonate with users of the Internet to create differentiation that otherwise could not exist in current gTLD's. Further, provision of the .REALESTATE gTLD as a trusted, valued space due to NAR/REALTOR-related registration restrictions will differentiate .REALESTATE from other, untrusted TLD's. Association in the minds of consumers with the reputation of NAR, NAR's members, affiliates, etc. and the associated provision of professional real estate services will differentiate .REALESTATE from other TLD's which do not benefit from such consumer association, whether by the generic or descriptive nature of the TLD itself, or by association of the TLD with products and/or services unrelated to the real estate industry, or related to the real estate industry but not associated with NAR or membership in NAR.

While it is difficult to predict in exact terms what future innovation may occur as a result of the existence of the .REALESTATE gTLD, we expect NAR, NAR members, affiliates, etc. to demonstrate the same capacity to innovate and adapt to new media as they have shown for over one hundred years. One possible example of this innovation which NAR intends to explore is the option of providing a hierarchical and intuitive framework for the .REALESTATE namespace by using geographical identifiers as second-level domain names. Such framework could provide an online, single-source identifying function, allowing consumers to locate real estate-related information regarding real esatate within domain-specified geographic areas.

3. User experience goals of the .REALESTATE gTLD.

A goal of .REALESTATE is for users to experience robust DNS industry standards for technical back-end operations, including but not limited to near 100% uptime; timely zone file dissemination; searchable WHOIS capabilities; and additional security measures such as for DNS Security Extensions (DNSSEC).

Over time, an additional goal is for users to experience .REALESTATE websites as trusted, valued sources for professional real estate related information. A goal NAR intends to explore is to provide real estate listings at domains which are associated with geographic and/or subject matter terms. Over time, users desiring information relating to real estate in a specific area, or information relating to services in a particular type of real estate (such as, for example, commercial properties), will be conditioned to navigate to "geographic.REALESTATE" or "subjectmatter.REALESTATE" in order to obtain relevant information.

4. Intended registration policies in the .REALESTATE gTLD in support of the goals listed above.

Consistent with NAR's mission/purpose for the .REALESTATE gTLD, NAR will determine, in its sole discretion, who may register domains in .REALESTATE, and, at least during initial operations of the .REALESTATE gTLD, only NAR, REALTORS®, NAR members, NAR affiliates (including societies and counsels), NAR licensees and parties otherwise in a contractual relationship with NAR will be permitted such registration. To the extent, during initial operations, a registrant/REALTOR® lapses in membership as a REALTOR®, or a registrant/NAR member ceases to be an NAR member, or a registrant/NAR affiliate ceases to be an NAR affiliate, or a registrant/NAR licensee ceases to be an NAR licensee, or a registrant/NAR contracted-party ceases to be an NAR contracted party, registration of the affected domain will have to be withdrawn. NAR will also determine, in its sole discretion, how domains in .REALESTATE may be used.

During initial operation of the .REALESTATE gTLD, NAR further may elect, in its discretion, to still further restrict who will be permitted registration in .REALESTATE, and to provide other policies and practices relating to registration and use of domains in .REALESTATE, which are reasonably necessary for the management, operations and purpose of the gTLD, consistent with NAR's Vision, so long as any such restrictions, policies or practices are consistent with the mission/purpose of .REALESTATE and the restrictions on registration set forth above. Any such restrictions, policies or practices will be implemented so that the .REALESTATE gTLD can be launched and initially operated in a controlled manner, granting the gTLD the opportunity to fulfill its stated mission(s)/purpose(s), and allowing NAR the opportunity to study use of the gTLD and user adoption of the gTLD. Any such restrictions, policies or practices will also allow NAR the ability to explore and implement user experience goals noted above and to find ways of achieving the missions/purposes identified above, such as provision of real estate listings at non-reserved geographic .REALESTATE domains.

NAR will periodically review progress and adoption of the .REALESTATE gTLD with an eye towards considering modification or removal of any such initial operation restrictions, policies or practices. NAR may choose to never remove these restrictions, policies and practices. Alternatively, NAR may choose to allow registrations in .REALESTATE to REALTORS®, NAR members, NAR affiliates, NAR licensees or NAR contracted parties as set forth herein.

As expanded operations under the .REALESTATE gTLD are contemplated (if indeed any such expansions are contemplated), NAR - in its sole discretion - may add, delete, amend or otherwise modify registration restrictions, policies and practices, in support of the goals listed above. NAR may adopt use policies consistent with the principles set forth herein and further consistent with NAR's Vision.

5. Measures for protecting the privacy and confidentiality of registrants and users.

Applicant does not at this time propose any measures for protecting the privacy of confidential information of registrants or users of .REALESTATE domain names, outside of what is required under applicable statute, contract or law.

6. Outreach and communications which will help achieve projected benefits.

The primary outreach and communications that will occur for .REALESTATE will be through NAR, the largest trade association in North America. Through a combination of radio, television, print, and Web advertisements, as well as a syndicated radio show, NAR educates consumers and the media about everything from market conditions to hiring contractors, and then some. Over time, we expect these existing channels of communication to produce widespread awareness for .REALESTATE.

Consistent with the mission/purpose of the .REALESTATE gTLD, only NAR, REALTORS®, NAR members, NAR affiliates, NAR licensees and parties otherwise in a contractual relationship with NAR, will have an opportunity to register and/or use domain names in .REALESTATE; any such registration or use will be under terms, policies and guidelines as NAR so determines, consistent with any applicable ICANN Consensus Policies, ICANN's registry agreement, any applicable rules of law and NAR-approved guidelines.

It is NAR's intent to operate .REALESTATE as a restricted gTLD, at least as compared to open, unrestricted TLD's such as .com and .net, consistent with its stated mission/purpose and employing the registration restrictions set forth herein. The restricted nature of the gTLD will help eliminate or minimize social costs, as registrants will be limited to individuals or entities which have an established relationship with NAR.

Further, the .REALESTATE gTLD implicates NAR's Vision and reputation, further minimizing or eliminating social costs as compared to users/operators of unrestricted gTLD's, which have no such Visions or reputations to protect.

1. Resolving multiple applications for a particular domain name.

NAR anticipates that the bulk of multiple applications for a particular domain name will be resolved on a first-come, first-serve basis. In appropriate circumstances, such as in allocating any premium names, first-come, first-serve allocation may be at a higher fixed annual fee. Resolution of any contention over a .REALESTATE domain name must be consistent with NAR's Vision and the mission/purpose of the .REALESTATE gTLD. In the event multiple applicants are not distinguishable in light of NAR's Vision and the mission/purpose of the gTLD, NAR will explore resolving the contention via an auction process. Any such auction would be performed by an experienced domain auction provider under best auction practices.

In the event of multiple applications for a particular domain name in a request for proposal (RFP) process, NAR will review the applications in light of NAR's Vision and the mission/purpose of the .REALESTATE gTLD, and explore contention resolution options between the applicants consistent with such Vision and mission/purpose. In the event multiple applicants are not distinguishable in light of the Vision and mission/purpose of the gTLD, NAR will likely explore resolving the contention via an auction process. Any such auction would be performed by an experienced domain auction provider under best auction practices.

2. Cost benefits for registrants in the .REALESTATE gTLD.

NAR may provide one or more introductory discounts during initial operations of the .REALESTATE gTLD, and NAR will review the results of any such discount(s) to determine if further discounts or other advantageous pricing should be implemented. If offered, NAR plans to make its members aware of any such introductory discounts in the new .REALESTATE gTLD through its existing channels, which will also have the added benefit of creating general awareness for the existence of the new .REALESTATE gTLD.

As set forth above, in appropriate circumstances, such as in allocating any premium names on a first-come, first-serve basis, allocation may be at a higher fixed annual fee.

3. Price escalation.

NAR does not intend to make contractual commitments to registrants regarding the magnitude of price escalation.

In responding to the issues indicated in Question 22, DotRealEstate LLC ("DRE") has considered GAC advice set forth at https://gacweb.icann.org/display/gacweb/New+gTLDs and https://gacweb.icann.org/download/attachments/1540128/gTLD_principles_0.pdf?version=1&modificationDate=1312358178000. DRE has also considered the methodology developed for the reservation and release of country names in the .INFO tld, and specifically the information relating to .INFO at Resolution 01-92 at http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/minutes-10sep01.htm and ICANN's proposed action plan at http://www.icann.org/en/meetings/montevideo/action-plan-country-names-09oct01.htm . DRE has also reviewed the Second WIPO Internet Domain Name Process - The Recognition and Rights and the Use of Names in the Internet Domain Name System, Section 6, Geographical Identifiers, at http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/processes/process2/report/html/report.html and ICANN's Generic Names Supporting Organization Reserved Names Working Group - Final Report at http://gnso.icann.org/issues/new-gtlds/final-report-rn-wg-23may07.htm.

Initial Reservation of Country and Territory Names

DRE is committed to initially reserving, at no cost to governments, public authorities or inter-governmental organizations, the country and territory names contained in the internationally recognized lists described in Article 5 of Specification 5 attached to the New gTLD Applicant Guidebook Draft New gTLD Registry Agreement at the second level and at all other levels within the .REALESTATE generic top-level domain (gTLD) at which DRE will provide for registrations. Specifically, DRE will reserve:

1. The short form (in English) of all country and territory names contained on the ISO 3166-1 list, as updated from time to time, including the European Union, which is exceptionally reserved on the ISO 3166-1 list, and its scope extended in August 1999 to any application needing to represent the name European Union, http://www.iso.org/iso/support/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/iso-3166- 1_decoding_table.htm - EU;

2. The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names, Technical Reference Manual for the Standardization of Geographical Names, Part III Names of Countries of the World; and

3. The list of United Nations member states in 6 official United Nations languages prepared by the Working Group on Country Names of the United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names.

To the extent Article 5 of Specification 5 of the final version of the New gTLD Registry Agreement is amended to include additional country, territory or other geographic identifiers, DRE will similarly initially reserve all such names.

It is DRE's intent to initially reserve the names mentioned above by blocking them from registration at the registry level (for example, DRE's back end provider, Verisign, would block the names from registration), but DRE may use any other method for initially reserving the names as not prohibited by the final version of the New gTLD Registry Agreement, such as, for example, registering such names in its own name in order to withhold them from delegation or use.

Use of Non-Reserved Geographical Identifiers

DRE believes that it is important to be able to register and/or use non-reserved geographical identifiers to promote competition in the DNS, competition among TLD operators, and to promote user acceptance and registrant interest in .REALESTATE. However, DRE recognizes that such registration and/or use should be in a fair and non-misleading manner.

Because of the importance in geographical identification in helping consumers locate real estate information, DRE and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) intend to explore the option of providing a hierarchical and intuitive framework for the .REALESTATE namespace by using geographical identifiers as second-level domain names. DRE and NAR believe the use of geographical identifiers to the left of the gTLD and as part of the domain name itself will have a direct and material impact on consumer adoption and search engine algorithms, along with corresponding query results. In addition, such naming conventions are intuitive and practiced by direct navigation Internet users. DRE and NAR believe that .REALESTATE may provide an online, single-source identifying function, allowing consumers to locate information relating to real estate within domain-specified geographic areas. As ICANN has largely premised this new gTLD round on promoting innovation, DRE and NAR would like to determine if this type of hierarchical and intuitive use of second-level domain names within a gTLD provides increased consumer functionality.

DRE and NAR recognize that there is concern regarding misuse of geographical identifiers in the international, regional and national levels. DRE and NAR, acting as responsible global businesses, seek to avoid business practices that could potentially mislead consumers and misuse geographical identifiers. DRE and NAR believe that it is important to be able to use geographical identifiers in a fair and non-misleading manner, as such use can benefit Internet users and consumers.

DRE's and NAR's intent is to consider using non-reserved geographic identifiers as part of a hierarchical and intuitive framework in a fair and non-misleading manner to help consumers navigate the .REALESTATE namespace. One option that may be considered is creation of GeographicLocation.REALESTATE website(s) which include listings of real estate at such "GeographicLocation." DRE and NAR are committed to operating the .REALESTATE namespace in a manner that minimizes potential consumer confusion, and will actively work with others in the ICANN community regarding any future policy development in this area.

As set forth in the answer to Question 29, an additional registry service which DRE will offer is the use of first come, first serve (at a higher fixed annual fee) to determine string allocation in appropriate circumstances, such as in allocating any premium names. Yet another service which DRE may offer, commonly used in the marketplace today, is the use of RFPs (Request for Proposals) and Auctions to determine string allocation in appropriate circumstances. DRE and NAR intend to explore allocating some non-reserved geographical identifiers as premium names or otherwise as set forth herein.

Alleged Abuses of Geographic Names

DRE does not anticipate any disputes with governments or public authorities arising in connection with the registration and use of geographic names within the .REALESTATE gTLD based upon its proposed use set forth in Answer 18 of this application and the statements made herein. Nevertheless, DRE and NAR are committed to working with governments, public authorities, or IGOs to quickly resolve any such potential disputes, and as such ensure that such governments, public authorities and IGO's will at minimum have access to .REALESTATE's abuse prevention procedure(s) and rights protection mechanisms set forth in answers to Questions 28 and 29 of this Application in order to ensure an ability to address alleged abuses of names with national or geographic significance at the second level of .REALESTATE.

Potential Future Release of Initially Reserved Names

DRE looks forward to collaborating with other new gTLD Registry Operators in potentially working with the GAC and ICANN to explore processes that could permit the release of initially reserved country names, such as Registry Service Evaluation Processes (RSEP) requests that have been filed by existing gTLD Registry Operators in releasing previously reserved domain names.

Creation and Updating the Policies

Should the need arise in the future for the creation or updating of the policies regarding this class of domain names, DRE will act in an open and transparent manner to develop such a policy and/or recommendation.

DRE is also committed to the ongoing review and updating of these lists to prevent the misleading use of geographical identifiers. Consistent with this commitment, DRE intends to participate in any ongoing ICANN policy discussion regarding the protection of geographic names within the DNS.