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Real estate or immovable property is a legal term (in some
jurisdictions) 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 personality).
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 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 law, the word real
means relating to a thing (from Latin res, matter or thing), as
distinguished from a person. Thus the law broadly distinguishes between
[real property] (land and anything affixed to it) and [personal
property] (everything else, e.g., clothing, furniture, money). The
conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would
transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person
would retain title to. (The word is not derived from the notion of land
having historically been "royal" property. The word royal — and its
Spanish cognate real — come from the unrelated Latin word rex, meaning
king.)
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. Cities such as Vancouver, British Columbia have
experienced remarkable growth in real estate prices in the new
millennium. 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)
Real Estate Marketing - Managing the sales side of the property business
Relocation services - Relocating people or business to different country
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.
"Internet Real Estate" is a term coined by the internet investment
community relating to the parallel that exists between high quality
internet domain names and real-world, prime real estate.
Levels
According to The Economist, "developed economies'" assets at the end of
2002 was
Residential property: $48 trillion
Commercial property: $14 trillion
Equities: $20 trillion
Government bonds: $20 trillion
Corporate bonds: $13 trillion
Total: $115 trillion
That makes real estate assets 54% and financial assets 46% of total
stocks, bonds, and real estate assets. Assets not counted here are bank
deposits, insurance "reserve" assets, and human assets; also it is not
clear if all debt and equity investments are counted in the categories
equities and bonds. For US asset levels see FRB: Z.1 Release-- Flow of
Funds Accounts of the United States.
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