Some time ago I noticed a mall complex in my home city of Greensboro, NC and a large road sign for the real estate firm handling the mall’s property management. The firm is Collett & Associates based out of Charlotte, NC. The large road sign showcasing their company read www.Collett.biz.

This trend is being replicated across the country with an increasing number of realtors and real estate companies moving to the .biz (Business) web address.

Some realty companies are still maintaining their initial .com site while also launching their newer .BIZ web address. Often with a slightly shorter or more intuitive .BIZ version of the company name.

Collett & Associates were founded in 1987 and currently manage commercial properties in 12 U.S. States. Not only do they manage, broker, and lease commercial properties, but they are also involved in client commercial property investments and a number of ongoing development projects.

My online research produced an impressive number of real estate companies setting up shop with the .biz web address. Since the extension is business-focused, it is an ideal choice for a wide range of companies both internet-based and of the brick-and-mortar variety.

A sampling of others: PeakProperties.biz, ClarkCommercial.biz, NewResorts.biz, MLS.biz, BellMarcRealty.biz, Avalar.biz.

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It is an interesting exercise to sometimes visit a domain name that was sold years ago to review how that domain was eventually utilized. As one might guess, the domain is sometimes developed, often parked, doesn’t resolve at all, or is possibly redirected to another operational website.

LowerManhattan.info was sold around 2003 by Dr. Tariq Ghafoor, an experienced and successful domain name developer and speculator. The domain went for 4-figures back then and was acquired by The Lower Manhattan Command Construction Center (LMCCC).

The LMCCC are the primary information resource for a multitude of Lower Manhattan construction projects aimed at revitalizing the area in a 20+ billion reconstruction. LowerManhattan.info is the LMCCC’s official website.

The site is very well designed and contains a wealth of information including construction advisories, air monitoring, manhattan downtown news, rebuilding & traffic/transit info, as well as maps and pictures of Manhattan reconstruction.

* Related domains from the PremiumDomains.US portfolio include: ManhattanRealEstate.info, and ManhattanRealEstate.biz

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A geo-targeted domain name in the mobile extension (.mobi) sells for $4380 on Sedo. The domain is MiamiRealEstate.mobi. The whois shows the new owner as the .com owner of the generic phrase “Miami Real Estate”.

Obtaining the mobile web address is a terrific idea and a good match for the .com version. Miami real estate will rebound in due time. Owning quality, premium domain names that fit this high interest phrase will attract homebuyers and act as an effective marketing & promotion tool.

Also available are: MiamiRealEstate.biz and MiamiRealEstate.info 

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Domaining can be approached from many angles. You can pursue any number of strategies covering a wide range of risk levels. The “risk” can be a carefully calculated decision … or a wild, high-stakes roll of the dice with no guarantee of a substantial return on your investment.

So check this out! There is an upcoming auction of a portfolio of .com real estate domain names. This particular auction will be held on June 11, 2009 in San Francisco at the Fairmont Hotel & Resort. The auction will be conducted by J.P. King who describe themselves as a ”premier auction marketing firm selling the finest in high value properties”.

The real estate portfolio being auctioned off contains over 2300 geo-targeted domain names. What is most interesting here is the very carefully crafted marketing campaign behind the auction. There is a slick, dedicated webpage. There is a  lengthy & sophisticated white paper. There is a professional mailing announcing the domain portfolio sale. There is an official endorsement of this domain portfolio by Monte Cahn of Moniker (who are acting as the escrow agent). Monte is quoted as saying …

It is extremely rare for such a pre-assembled platform of virtual real estate to become available.

There appear to be several rather positive aspects to this auction in regard to domain names. And also a potentially negative element as well. First, the positive.

Definite Positives:

• J.P King appear to have a successful history of representing sellers of high dollar real estate and other properties. Looks like a classy outfit along the lines of a Sothebys or Christies auction house. Premium domains deserve this kind of association.
• Monte Cahn (and Moniker) appear to be making an effort to possibly lift the auction of domains to a more prestigious level. Premium domains are indeed high dollar assets and in the realm of fine art & rare collectibles.
• This auction has an accompanying mailing (very professional looking I might add). I assume this hardcopy mailing is going out to real estate firms nationwide. End user outreach is monumentally important. I assume there may be a forthcoming press release too.

Possible Negative:

• Questionably, the actual domain names themselves. This large portfolio of real estate domains are almost exclusively constructed on City+RealEstate+Listings.com as in PhoenixRealEstateListings.com. Can you spot a potential problem?

This bears some discussion. The ultimate real estate web addresses are geo-targeted domains ending in “RealEstate” as in MiamiRealEstate.com. A 2300 plus domain portfolio built on this formula would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars, possibly even higher. The ultimate gold standard.

By adding “Listings” on to the gold standard we move away from premium and into the arena of a long tail domain that has some competition. There is no substitute for “Miami Real Estate”.

But there are multiple competing substitutes for “MiamiRealEstateListings”, such as ”MiamiRealEstateAgents”, “MiamiRealEstateForSale”, “MiamiRealEstateMarket”, “MiamiRealEstatePrices”, “MiamiRealEstateForeclosure”. All of these examples were just taken from Google’s auto-generated key phrases.

Now this does not negate the value of a portfolio built on City+RealEstate+Listings.com, but it does raise a question as to whether a portfolio of these domains will have enough appeal to generate nationwide interest and high level bidding.

A 2300 name portfolio built on truly prime real estate domains like: City+RealEstate or City+Homes would garner massive, unprecedented interest and sky high bidding never seen before in the history of domaining. Of course, it is impossible for someone to have amassed a comprehensive portfolio containing these types of premium quality domains.

So, June 11 will come and go very soon. And we shall see if the auction was a resounding success, or not. I must say that I am impressed with the look of the marketing and packaging. It appears designed with real estate end users in mind.

However, I’m not sure that City+RealEstate+Listings.com is going to cut it. Long tail domains need to have no substitutes in order to stand out as a truly unique opportunity.

But as they say, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Let’s see what the real estate community have to say on June 11th.

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Real estate is one of the most popular business categories on the web. People love to house hunt, and statistics clearly demonstrate just how important the internet has become for successfully marketing and promoting properties online.

Geo-targeted domain names are perfect for serving the real estate industry. There are a number of relevant keywords that constitute the most popular, and effective, search phrases. They are:

• Real Estate
• Homes
• Condos
• Apartments
• Properties
• Property
• MLS
• Rentals
• Foreclosures

City specific real estate domains are among the best choices for those working in the real estate industry. For example, “Miami Real Estate” is one of the most utilized, widely searched phrases for obvious reasons. Closely associated are “Miami Condos“. Performing a basic Yahoo or Google search produces a multitude of companies and realtors advertising under these search phrases.

All of these variations on the real estate theme make good investment and development opportunities. Experimenting with search engine results should give you a clear indication as to which geographical areas are drawing the most advertisers. But don’t overlook some of the less populated areas too, which are often not yet registered.

This map, published by Zillow, shows how home values have recently changed in some of the larger metropolitan areas across the United States. Many of the “hot market” regions are now suffering home value drops. Nonetheless, buyers and sellers are in the market constantly looking for great opportunities. And the real estate industry is a 24/7 non-stop arena representing trillions of dollars in equity investment.

For domainers, active business markets suggest excellent premium domain investments & acquisitions. I recently picked up the premium name: Condos.biz, knowing that a nice quality real estate business domain will only appreciate in value. I may develop Condos.biz in due time (time being the operative word). Domain portfolio development … is a great outlet! Happy hunting.

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MLS.biz is the website of The Dave Therrien Group, a Keller Williams Realty franchise located in Millersville, Maryland. You may be interested to know that Millersville is perfectly situated between Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Annapolis, Maryland.

Dave Therrien is not only a real estate professional and educator, but he also holds degrees in law, psychology, general studies, and a minor in computer science. Dave is a former U.S. Marine and retired naval officer among many other notable accomplishments.

I contacted Dave after learning about his excellent domain name, MLS.biz, an obviously fitting web address for someone working in the real estate profession. Before speaking with Dave, my research showed that another party had once successfully challenged Dave’s initial .biz application using the old STOP challenge process back in 2002. You might presume that “The MLS” had tried to lay claim to this common acronym, but you would be wrong.

It was merely another person, not even working in the real estate field, who filed the STOP. And won! … in a somewhat odd decision not uncharacteristic of the early wild west days of the domain industry. Suffice it to say, STOP was a somewhat poorly implemented, and misapplied mechanism, intended to protect real trademark rights. Long story short, the case progressed to Federal court. While the details are to be kept private, Mr. Therrien came out just fine, in the end, with a top notch .biz domain name that worked very well for his Maryland area real estate company.

For those readers who are real estate pros and/or enthusiasts, you might also peruse Dave’s other beautifully designed site at: ProfessoreHome.com. He moderates the site and utilizes his years of experience and accumulated knowledge to foster professional development in a number of different areas. The ProfessoreHome website contains informative real estate articles, teaches methods for building online relationships, and functions as a virtual real estate learning center.

If you are technically inclined, it is interesting to note that MLS is not a national trademark in the traditional sense, or subject to exclusive protection. To the contrary, “The MLS” has only a supplemental register service mark with the common disclaimer: “NO CLAIM IS MADE TO THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO USE “MLS” APART FROM THE MARK AS SHOWN“. The mark (as shown in the USPTO database) is a rather stylized drawing and distinctive font. No claim is made to the letters –> MLS.  

In further support of mass use of the MLS letters (for real estate services) are numerous LIVE trademarks at the USPTO for variations on the MLS theme. There exists only one UDRP transfer in regard to an “MLS” domain name. That case was “TheSarasotaMLS.com” which was, at best, a controversial decision with one of three panelists articulating a well-argued dissent and rebuttal to the domain name transfer.

To finish up, best of luck Dave Therrien in your professional pursuits and business endeavors. For those interested, you can find more information about the .BIZ domain address at the Neustar registry.

Fact: .BIZ surpassed two million registrations worldwide, for the first time, in June of 2008.

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