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 personalty). 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. Property law, the area of the common law that governs real property, differs from contract law in that it focuses primarily on rights that one person holds over all other people, as opposed to specific individuals.

Background

---

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. However, 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.

More on [ Real estate ]

BBC News | Asia-Pacific | World Edition

N Korea hails terror list removal
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:37:12 -0000
North Korea welcomes a US decision to remove it from a list of sponsors of terrorism and agrees to allow nuclear access.
China agrees land reform package
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:09:35 -0000
China's leaders approve a package of rural reforms that could shape economic policy over coming years.
Aceh guerrilla leader flies home
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 04:46:00 -0000
Former rebels flock to Banda Aceh to welcome home one of Indonesia's best-known guerrilla leaders, Hasan di Tiro.
Tainted China water sickens 450
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:26:24 -0000
About 450 people fall ill in southern China after drinking water contaminated by a metal factory, state media report.
New Kim Jong-il images released
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 06:22:53 -0000
North Korea releases pictures of reclusive leader Kim Jong-il apparently looking well, despite reports he has been ill.
Ahtisaari wins Nobel Peace Prize
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:42:42 -0000
Martti Ahtisaari wins this year's Nobel Peace Prize for his mediation efforts, including in Indonesia's Aceh province.

NYT > Asia Pacific

North Korea Is Off Terror List After a Deal With the U.S.
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 04:23:53 -0000
Saying North Korea had agreed to adhere to nuclear concessions, the U.S. removed the country from a list of terrorism sponsors.
North Korean TV Shows Photos of Elusive Leader
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 05:37:58 -0000
More than a month after his absence from an important anniversary parade fueled theories that he had suffered a stroke, Kim Jong-il reportedly inspected a military unit.
Thai Prime Minister’s Supporters Rally as Antigovernment Protest Nears
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 22:09:20 -0000
Thousands of supporters of Thailand’s governing coalition gathered in a show of strength, two days before a planned protest by a group hoping to topple the elected government.

L.A. Times - Asia

Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura is found dead in jail cell
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
He had just been extradited to Los Angeles to face conspiracy charges in the murder of his wife in 1981. His death is called an apparent suicide. Bringing a dramatic conclusion to a nearly three-decade-long international crime saga, a Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife murdered 27 years ago in Los Angeles hanged himself in his jail cell hours after returning to face charges, police said Saturday.
North Korea removed from U.S. terrorism list after nuclear agreement
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0700
Conservatives criticize the deal, under which North Korea will permit international inspectors to return, but gives access only to specific sites. Sen. John McCain also expresses reservations. The Bush administration Saturday removed North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism after Pyongyang agreed to allow inspectors access to declared nuclear sites, in a deal that drew quick criticism from conservatives.
North Korea releases Kim Jong Il's pictures
Sat, 11 Oct 2008 07:47:00 -0700
North Korea released pictures of its leader, Kim Jong Il, today for the first time in nearly two months, showing him looking generally well despite reports he recently underwent brain surgery.

UN News Centre - Asia Pacific

Head of UN agency promoting press freedom condemns murder of Thai journalist
Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
The head of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has deplored the murder of Thai journalist, while stressing that it is vital for the future of press freedom in the South-East Asian nation for the perpetrators of the attack to be brought to justice.
Relief efforts continue in quake-hit Kyrgyzstan, UN reports
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
United Nations humanitarian agencies are continuing their relief efforts in the mountains of southern Kyrgyzstan, where an earthquake on Sunday night killed more than 70 people and displaced hundreds of families, as they work to bring aid before the expected arrival of the first snowfalls of the season.
Myanmar: UN expert outlines steps for improving human rights
Wed, 08 Oct 2008 00:00:00 -0500
Improving the situation of human rights in Myanmar is still a challenging task, according to the independent United Nations expert on the issue, who has outlined a series of measures for the South-East Asian as it proceeds with its "road map to democracy" announced earlier this year.

Asia - Pacific - International Herald Tribune

Mourners mark 6th anniversary of Bali suicide attacks
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:04:24 -0000
Survivors, relatives and tourists remembered victims of the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings on their sixth anniversary Sunday.
United States and North Korea reach compromise
By CHOE SANG-HUN AND HELENE COOPER Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:04:24 -0000
North Korea welcomed its removal Sunday from Washington's terrorism blacklist and said it would resume disabling its nuclear weapons facilities, allowing U.S. and United Nations monitors back in.
Afghan president reshuffles cabinet posts
By JOHN F. BURNS Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:04:24 -0000
The changes are a response to demands for a crackdown on corruption coming from Western nations that sustain President Hamid Karzai's government with troops and billions of dollars in aid.
Rioters burn 6 to death in southern India
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:04:24 -0000
Rioters in southern India killed six members of a Muslim family by setting fire to their home after earlier clashes between Hindus and Muslims left four others dead and 15 injured in the same village, officials said Sunday.
More than 100 Taliban killed in Afghan clashes
Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:04:24 -0000
Taliban militants launched a surprise attack on a southern Afghan town, sparking a battle that killed about 60 insurgents. A second clash in the same region killed another 40 militants.
A leftover city of day laborers in Japan faces grim future
By NORIMITSU ONISHI Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:04:24 -0000
Little is being built in Japan's stagnant economy, and many of the men left in the Airin district of Osaka, on average just shy of 60 years old and with no family ties, are waiting to die.

Subscribe to Asia RSS feed