There are generally two types of property: real property and personal property. Most of the legal concepts and rules associated with both types of property are derived from British common law. Back then, "real property," often shortened to just property, generally referred to land and fixtures upon land. In modern times, real estate has become an American umbrella term for buying, selling, renting and using land.

Specifically, real property is land and ordinarily anything erected on, growing on, or affixed to it, including buildings and crops. The term land, in its general usage, includes not only the face of the earth but everything of a permanent nature over or under it, including minerals, oil, and gases.

Personal property, meanwhile, is anything other than land that can be the subject of ownership, including stocks, money, notes, intellectual property as well as intangible property.