REAL ESTATE

Real estate is the property, land, buildings, air rights above the land and underground rights below the land. The term real estate means real, or physical, property. “Real” comes from the Latin root res, or things. Others say it’s from the Latin word rex, meaning “royal,” since kings used to own all land in their kingdoms.

There are four types of real estate:

• Residential real estate includes both new construction and resale homes. The most common category is single-family homes. There are also condominiums, co-ops, townhouses, duplexes, triple-deckers, quadplexes, high-value homes, multi-generational and vacation homes.

• Commercial real estate includes shopping centers and strip malls, medical and educational buildings, hotels and offices. Apartment buildings are often considered commercial, even though they are used for residences. That's because they are owned to produce income.

• Industrial real estate includes manufacturing buildings and property, as well as warehouses. The buildings can be used for research, production, storage, and distribution of goods. Some buildings that distribute goods are considered commercial real estate. The classification is important because the zoning, construction and sales are handled differently.

• Land includes vacant land, working farms, and ranches. The subcategories within vacant land include undeveloped, early development or reuse, subdivision and site assembly.