Historical Background: The term "real property" has its roots in English common law, with its origins traced back to the Latin word "res," meaning "thing." Noted legal scholar Henry de Bracton was instrumental in defining real property in English law, distinguishing it from personal property. This division arose from different legal treatments of land and movable assets, reflecting the societal and economic structures of the time.

Characteristics of Real Property:

1. Immobility: Land, by its nature, cannot be moved. This immobility shapes real estate markets, making them local and dependent on surrounding developments and externalities. The value of real property is significantly influenced by its location and the developments around it.

2. Externalities: Real property is susceptible to external influences. Factors such as nearby construction, environmental changes, and local economic shifts can directly impact its value.

3. Development: The utility of real property often depends on natural resources and developments, such as water supply, mineral deposits, and transport routes. Urban land, in particular, can see its value shift based on zoning regulations and the conversion of rural to urban spaces.

Identification of Real Property: Legal property descriptions are crucial in identifying real property. These descriptions can be based on natural or man-made boundaries, and are typically articulated through methods like metes and bounds, lot and block, or the Public Land Survey System in the United States.

Estates and Ownership Interests Defined: Real property law recognizes various types of estates, such as fee simple, fee tail, life estates, and leaseholds. These estates determine the rights, duration, and transferability of property ownership. The concept of joint ownership, including joint tenancy and tenancy in common, further adds to the complexity of real property rights.

Bundle of Rights: Central to real property is the concept of a "bundle of rights." This includes the right to transfer, exclude, use, and even destroy the property, each with its own legal implications and limitations.

In summary, real property in English common law is a multifaceted concept, deeply entrenched in historical context and evolving legal principles. Its definition extends beyond mere land ownership, encompassing a range of rights, responsibilities, and legal nuances that continue to shape property law and real estate markets today.

In English common law, real property, real estate, immovable property or, solely in the US and Canada, realty, refers to parcels of land and any associated structures which are the property of a person. In order for a structure (also called an improvement or fixture) to be considered part of the real property, it must be integrated with or affixed to the land. Examples include crops, buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, and roads. The term is historic, arising from the now-discontinued form of action, which distinguished between real property disputes and personal property disputes. Personal property, or personalty, was, and continues to be, all property that is not real property.

In countries with personal ownership of real property, civil law protects the status of real property in real-estate markets, where estate agents work in the market of buying and selling real estate. Scottish civil law calls real property heritable property, and in French-based law, it is called immobilier ("immovable property").