.REALTOR Top-Level Domains Will Soon be Available to Realtor® Associations and Brokerages

WASHINGTON, April 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Realtors^® top-level domain .REALTOR will be available to local and state Realtor^® associations as well as brokerages in the U.S. and Canada starting May 7.

NAR was one of the first associations approved to offer a top-level domain and among the first in the real estate industry to commit to this new technology. Since the .REALTOR top-level domain became available to NAR members in October 2014, more than 95,000 domains have been claimed.

Now boards, associations and brokerages will have the opportunity to register for the domain, which lets consumers instantly know that they are working within the Realtor^® community, the most trusted source for real estate information and with agents who subscribe to NAR's strict Code of Ethics. As the Internet begins to evolve and divide into industry-specific categories, NAR believes it's important for the Realtor^® community to lead the industry and create an exclusive namespace for itself that consumers instantly recognize. 

"Early adoption of new technology is a vital part of how Realtors^® conduct business, and NAR is committed to staying on the forefront of the latest online tools," said NAR President Chris Polychron, executive broker with 1^st Choice Realty in Hot Springs, Ark. "We hope associations and brokerages can take advantage of the .REALTOR domain to create an online space where home buyers, sellers and investors, as well as Realtors^®, can go to find the most trustworthy, reliable real estate services and resources."

NAR has also entered into an exclusive marketing partnership with the Canadian Real Estate Association, the exclusive licensors of the Realtor^® mark in Canada. CREA associations and boards will also be able to use the domain to provide consumers in Canada with the same advantages.

NAR made an early commitment to adopt this technology and began applying for the .REALTOR top-level domain eight years ago through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the organization that coordinates domains and Internet Protocol addresses around the world. Throughout the entire process, NAR worked closely with Second Generation subsidiary Real Estate Domains, LLC, an investment firm and registry operator for the top-level domain .JOBS.

For more information on claiming the .REALTOR domain, which is available to associations and brokerages starting May 7 at 10 a.m. CDT, visit www.about.REALTOR.

The Canadian Real Estate Association is one of Canada's largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 111,000 Realtors^® working through some 90 real estate boards and associations.

Second Generation Ltd ("Second Gen"), headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, is an Embrescia family investment firm that actively works with talented management teams to develop businesses that have potential for significant growth and long-term value. For over three decades, Second Gen and its affiliates have owned and operated FCC licensed radio and television properties super serving markets throughout the United States as well as investing in manufacturing, real estate and medical innovations. Among its diverse investments, Second Gen is the owner of the .JOBS top-level domain on the Internet sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management.

The National Association of Realtors^®, "The Voice for Real Estate," is America's largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.               

Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the "News, Blogs and Videos" tab on the website.

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SOURCE National Association of Realtors

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http://www.realtor.org