Real Estate Throughout the Ages

Have you ever wondered where real estate comes from? Have you ever thought about how people have bought and sold properties, or even traded pieces of land throughout history?

Early Investors

Believe it or not, real estate actually goes back all the way to 334 BC when Alexander the Great acquired land by defeating the Persians. He is considered to be the the world's first investor, as he made a deal with another group of people, became victorious, and acquired the land.

This is obviously not the process we follow today to exchange pieces of land and properties, and for this reason, a lot of people might not consider these events in history to be the beginnings of real estate. However, as with everything else in life, real estate had to start somewhere, and this is how it has evolved over millions of years.

Conquering a Hot Market

Later on, in the year 1066, William the Conqueror declared his ownership of England after defeating the Normans. There is an ancient drawing pictured above that represents this, which shows the world's first "sold" sign which was displayed next to William the Conqueror when this event happened. Several hundred years later in 1783, Napoleon began his real estate empire by gaining Spain, Poland, Germany, Austria, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and Egypt. 

Negotiations are Key

The 1800s were a busy time in real estate. The United States acquired a lot of new land in the Louisiana Purchase as well as the Alaska Purchase. Just like we negotiate prices in real estate today, the terms of the Louisiana Purchase were $.001 per sqft. This is just an example to show that every little detail in the real estate process today started somewhere.

To sum up the 1800s, we recognize that Baird Warner, now the oldest real estate brokerage in the United States, was started in 1855. Also, the Oklahoma Land Rush took place in 1889. This historical event consisted of 50,000 people rushing and competing with others that were doing the same thing to claim lots of land that were as large as 160 acres.

Intro to Modern Real Estate

At this point, the concept of real estate really started to grow and the 1900s were an even busier period of time than the 1800s. Many things that we are familiar with in real estate today were created, including the term "realtor," the FHA,  the mortgage association Fannie Mae, the second loan market Freddie Mac and the MLS, or Multiple Listing Service.

By 1970, there was a public record of listings on the market and there were also more efficient ways to finance a home. This century didn't have the easiest of beginnings due to the Great Depression in 1929, but it ended in an amazing way. In 1994, it became possible for the first time to view listings on the internet. Five years later, internet lead generation was introduced. Both of these tools are still used everyday.

Recent Years

The last almost 20 years have also provided us with more developments in the real estate industry. In the year 2000, IDX feeds, or International Data Exchange began to be used in real estate websites. IDX feeds make it possible for realtors to publish content on the MLS regarding their listings. Google Maps was introduced to the internet in 2005, which is a huge part of internet real estate today.

Unfortunately, just a couple of short years later in 2007, a downfall happened where a large financial crisis hit the United States when its housing bubble burst. This created a significant plunge in home pricing. It took seven years for the market to begin looking normal again. In 2009, the popular tools that all of us use for real estate, whether we are agents, sellers, or buyers; phone apps, came about and became much more popular.

Everyday, for the last several million years, real estate has been advancing and people have been becoming much more knowledgeable. As the market is also growing, mortgage rates are projected to increase this year as well as cost of renting. With continuing advancements in real estate, the market is becoming more competitive. 

Becoming educated in the real estate industry and the different processes that lie within it includes knowing its history. We can now see how different things have come about, even going as far back as 334 BC.