Real estate encompasses the land, plus any permanent man-made additions, such as houses and other buildings. Any additions or changes to the land that affects the property’s value are called an improvement. The terms land, real estate, and real property are often used interchangeably, but there are distinctions.

• Developers earn a profit by adding value to the land (creating buildings or improvements, rezoning, etc.) and taking the risk of financing a project.
• There are several types of REITs, including equity, mortgage, and hybrid REITs, and are classified based on how their shares are bought and sold, such as publicly-traded REITs,