History of the TLD

.immo is a generic top-level domain established as part of ICANN’s new gTLD expansion program. The name derives from the French and German root word for real estate and was created to serve the property and real estate industry globally. The rights to .immo were secured by Donuts (Auburn Bloom, LLC) through a private auction in 2014. The registry agreement with ICANN was signed in July 2014 and .immo was delegated into the DNS root zone in August 2014.

Main Use and Industry Position

.immo is positioned as a specialised domain extension for the real estate and property industry. It is commonly used by real estate agencies, property managers, brokers, developers, and associated service professionals who want a domain name that clearly communicates property-related activities. The extension is recognised in multiple European markets and resonates particularly in regions where “immo” is commonly understood as shorthand for real estate.

Comparison to Other TLDs

Compared with general TLDs like .com or .net, .immo is niche and industry-specific. It offers stronger semantic relevance for real estate businesses than generic extensions, which can help in branding and search relevance for real estate audiences. Unlike country code TLDs such as .au or .uk, .immo is not tied to a specific country and can be used globally. It differs from other real estate oriented TLDs such as .realestate or .estate by the linguistic and regional alignment with European real estate terminology.

Pros and Cons of the TLD

Pros

• Clear real estate industry relevance
  

• Available for open registration
  

• Supports DNSSEC and IDN characters on many registrars
  

Cons

• Less universally recognised than legacy TLDs
  

• Potentially higher registration cost than generic TLDs
  

• Limited trust signals compared with long-established extensions
  
  

Registration Criteria

.immo domains are available on a first-come, first-served basis to any individual or organisation. There are no geographic or industry restrictions on registration. Character rules follow standard gTLD requirements, allowing letters, numbers, and hyphens within the length policy.

Summary

The .immo TLD is a real estate-focused generic top-level domain introduced in 2014. Managed by Binky Moon, LLC with registry services provided by Identity Digital, .immo offers an industry-specific namespace for property-related organisations worldwide. It is open for unrestricted registration and aligns well with branding needs within the real estate sector.