Basis of Real estate

Real estate is land and all that is permanently a part of it, either on, or under, including water, trees, buildings, minerals, oil. "Real estate," also called "real property," is a term that developed in medieval times. When contests were held over the title of a piece of land, the person judged as rightful owner received the real (actual) property as the settlement of the dispute.

The term "real estate" today, is used to refer to land and the property on it, and to the real estate industry — including both domestic and commercial land, appurtenant property, the leasing of same, and financing of and investment in same.

In the selling and renting of both domestic and commercial real estate, brokers buy and sell and appraisers fix value. Property managers and a host of others work rentals. Another whole set of persons is involved with the financing of the purchase or rental and mortgage issues for purchase.

Because of the many facets of the industry, determining who are the largest firms requires asking further questions:

- What part of the industry?
- By what measure?
- Volume of sales?
- Number of brokers?
- Number of offices?
The industry itself is at odds on ranking issues.

Century 21 is one of the largest franchise real estate brokers in the United States, with Weichart Realtors operating nationally as one of the largest independent realtors. Trends in twentieth-century realty brokerage include the development of mortgage financing companies that handle financing and refinancing for domestic real estate sales, the increased training and professionalism of real estate broker and the use of the term "realtor," developed by the National Association of Realtors.

The two largest foreign investors in U.S. real estate are Canada and Japan; the strength of the yen has made U.S. real estate even more attractive to Japanese investors. The outlook for the future of real estate, both commercial and domestic, is tied to the fate of interest rates, to changes in the tax laws to make investment trusts easier to set up, and to the activities of REITs both in the stability of their investments and their activity in the stock market.