Unit 1 Introduction to the Real Estate Business

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

When you have completed this unit, you will be able to accomplish the following.

• List the various careers available in the real estate industry.
• Describe the different classifications and characteristics of real property and the types of housing available for purchase or rental.
• Identify the major goal of fair housing laws.
• Explain the factors of supply and demand in the real estate market.

KEY TERMS

OVERVIEW
Real estate transactions are taking place all around us, all the time. When a business that sells camping gear leases space in a shopping center, or the owner of an apartment building rents out a unit to a new tenant, it’s a real estate transaction. The most common transaction is the purchase or rental of a home, whether by a first-time buyer, by someone seeking a larger or smaller place to live or a second home, or by an investor interested in the property’s income-producing potential. Consumers of real estate services thus include buyers and sellers of homes, tenants and landlords, investors, and developers. Nearly everyone, at some time, is involved in a real estate transaction.

All this adds up to big business—simple as well as complex transactions that together involve trillions of dollars each year in the United States. The services of millions of highly trained individuals are required: attorneys, bankers, trust company representatives, abstract and title insurance company agents, architects, surveyors, accountants, tax experts, and many others, in addition to buyers and sellers. In most of these transactions, the people involved depend on the skills and knowledge of licensed real estate professionals.