Domania is an internet search engine

Web search engine

A web search engine is designed to search for information on the World Wide Web and FTP servers. The search results are generally presented in a list of results often referred to as SERPS, or "search engine results pages". The information may consist of web pages, images, information and other...

 that allows users to search through 28 million Comparables

Comparables

Comparables is a real estate appraisal term referring to properties with characteristics that are similar to a subject property whose value is being sought...

 or "sold home prices" dating back to 1987 at no cost. As of Nov 2008, this historical function is no longer working.

"Comparables" are vital to a person

Person

A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...

's understanding of the value

Value (economics)

An economic value is the worth of a good or service as determined by the market.The economic value of a good or service has puzzled economists since the beginning of the discipline. First, economists tried to estimate the value of a good to an individual alone, and extend that definition to goods...

 of their home

Home

A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...

, especially using the sales comparison approach

Sales comparison approach

The sales comparison approach is one of the three major groupings of valuation methods, called the three approaches to value, commonly used in real estate appraisal. This approach compares a subject property's characteristics with those of comparable properties which have recently sold in similar...

. It is often this information that is used by Real estate agents and other mortgage

Mortgage loan

A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...

 and financial

FINANCIAL

FINANCIAL is the weekly English-language newspaper with offices in Tbilisi, Georgia and Kiev, Ukraine. Published by Intelligence Group LLC, FINANCIAL is focused on opinion leaders and top business decision-makers; It's about world’s largest companies, investing, careers, and small business. It is...

 professionals to arrive at a valuation of a property

Property

Property is any physical or intangible entity that is owned by a person or jointly by a group of people or a legal entity like a corporation...

.

Real estate agents generally try to find 4 or 5 comparables to get the best indicator of the value of a property.

Domania was the outgrowth of a company called "INPHO" in 1989 by Steven Kropper

Steven Kropper

Steven Kropper is an American businessman, entrepreneur and wind power advocate. He is best known for his role as founder of Domania a home price check website.-Personal life:...

 and Fran Rivkin in Cambridge

Cambridge

The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

, MA

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. The original concept was phone and fax based. In 1999, @Ventures, a CMGI company provided venture capital for their transformation into an Internet brand and company. In 2002 Domania's assets were acquired by Primedia

Primedia

PRIMEDIA Inc. is privately held American media company fully owned by TPG Capital.Consumer Source Inc. is the sole operating division of PRIMEDIA and helps millions of consumers find apartments, houses for rent, and new homes for sale through its Internet, mobile, and print products...

, a New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

based publishing firm.