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Real estate or immovable property is a legal term that
encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the
land, such as buildings. Real estate (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.
Banks are willing to make such loans at favorable rates in large
part because if the borrower does not make payments the lender
can foreclose, that is file a court action that lets them take
the property and sell it to get their money back. But in many
developing countries there is no effective means by which a
lender could foreclose, so the mortgage loan industry as such
either does not exist at all or is only available to members of
privileged social classes.
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:
* Appraisal - Professional valuation services
* Brokerages - Assisting buyers and sellers in transactions
* Development - Improving land for use by adding or replacing
buildings
* Property management - Managing a property for its owner(s)
* Relocation services - Relocating people or business to
different country
