Even though they are sometimes used interchangeably, land, real estate, and real property differ. The trees, minerals, and water found on the earth’s surface up to its center and in the upper atmosphere are called land.
The Real Estate Market’s Economics:
Housing starts, or the number of new residential construction projects in any given month, as the U.S. Census Bureau reports, is an important economic indicator. Real estate is a critical economic driver in the U.S. For single-family homes, residences with 2-4 units, and multifamily buildings with five units or more, such as apartment buildings, the report provides data on building permits, housing starts, and housing completions.
Analysts and investors closely monitor housing starts since the data can broadly indicate the economy’s trajectory. Additionally, the sorts of new housing starts can reveal information about the state of the economy. There may soon be a shortage of single-family homes, raising home prices if housing shows fewer single-family and more multifamily starts. The following graph displays house starts during 20 years, from January 1, 2000, to February 1, 2020.
Investing in Real Estate: A Guide
Homeownership, rental or investment homes, and house flipping are some of the most popular real estate investment strategies that every investor follow. Real estate wholesalers are one form of real estate investor who contracts a house with a seller before locating a buyer. Real estate wholesalers typically locate and acquire bankrupt properties without making any improvements or renovations.
Real estate investments produce returns through appreciation in property value and rent or lease income. The year-end 2021 U.S. home sales report from ATTOM, which manages the country’s leading property database, reveals that home sellers countrywide realized a profit of $94,092, a 45.3 percent return on investment, up 45 percent from $64,931 in 2020, and up 71 percent from the previous year. Location significantly impacts the value of the real estate, as do other elements, including employment rates, the local economy, crime rates, transit options, and the caliber of the local schools, municipal services, and property taxes.
Through a real estate investment trust (REIT), a business that manages a portfolio of properties that generate revenue, one can invest in real estate indirectly. A REIT can be classified as either publicly traded, publicly non-traded, or private, depending on how its shares are acquired and sold. Other forms of REITs include equity, mortgage, and hybrid REITs.
