With the development of private property ownership, real estate has become a major area of business. Purchasing real estate requires a significant investment, and each parcel of land has unique characteristics, so the real estate industry has evolved into several distinct fields. Specialists are often called on to valuate real estate and facilitate transactions. Some kinds of real estate businesses include:

Appraisal: Professional valuation services
Brokerages: Assisting buyers and sellers in transactions
Development: Improving land for use by adding or replacing buildings
Property management: Managing a property for its owner(s)
Real Estate Marketing: Managing the sales side of the property business
Real Estate Investing: Managing the investment of real estate
Relocation services: Relocating people or business to a different country

Within each field, a business may specialize in a particular type of real estate, such as residential, commercial, or industrial property. In addition, almost all construction business effectively has a connection to real estate.

“Internet Real Estate” is a term coined by the internet investment community relating to the parallel that exists between high quality internet domain names and real-world, prime real estate. Many internet companies actually use the address of properties as domain names.