Real Estate
Real estate is a legal term that encompasses land along with
anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings.
Real estate (sometimes referred to as immovable property) is often
considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty),
in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel
or personalty).
However, for technical purposes, some people prefer to distinguish
real estate, referring to the land and fixtures themselves, from real
property, referring to ownership rights over real estate.
The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common
law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property.
In recent years, many economists have not recognized that the lack
of effective real estate laws can be a significant barrier to investment
in many developing countries. In most societies, rich or poor, a significant
fraction of the total wealth is in the form of land and buildings.
In most advanced economies, the main source of capital used by individuals
and small companies to purchase and improve land and buildings is
mortgages -- bank loans for which the real property itself constitutes
collateral.
In spite of the name, real estate has no connection with the concept
of reality (in other words, the law does not consider real property
more "real" than personal property). It derives instead from the feudal
principle that in a monarchy, all land was considered the property
of the king. Thus originally the term real estate was equivalent to
"royal estate", real originating from the French royale, as it was
the French-speaking Normans who introduced feudalism to England and
thus to the English language; cognate to Spanish real.
With the development of private property ownership, real estate has
become a major area of business. Purchasing real estate requires a
significant investment, and each parcel of land has unique characteristics,
so the real estate industry has evolved into several distinct fields.
Specialists are often called on to valuate real estate and facilitate
transactions.
Some kinds of real estate businesses include:
- Real Estate Appraisal - Professional valuation services
- Real Estate Brokerages - Assisting buyers and sellers in transactions
- Real Estate Development - Improving land for use by adding or
replacing buildings
- Property management - Managing a property for its owner(s)
Within each field, a business may specialize in a particular type
of real estate, such as residential, commercial, or industrial property.
In addition, almost all construction business effectively has a connection
to real estate.
smartvendor offers a real
estate service to vendors wishing to sell their homes privately.
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