The real estate market is not a single unified market, rather it is highly fragmented and segment into markets and submarkets, each having a different market structure and competitive set of unique operating characteristics. There are no national real estate markets, only regional or local ones defined by the different co-existing typologies and local transaction facilitators and regulation.
The decentralized, fragmented local nature of real estate markets require the involvement of local facilitators – real estate brokers, banks, lawyers and others who help in the purchase and sale of property. Real estate markets are also generally regulated by their respective local government, which licenses realty professionals.
For a real estate transaction to take place:
- A prospective buyer (the demand side) and a prospective seller (the supply side) must find each other;
- Both parties must be interested in a transaction at the same time;
- The property must meet the wants and needs of the buyer; and
- The buyer and seller must agree on a bilaterally negotiated price.
The real estate market consists of countless local submarkets of varying economic and political development. A number of online platforms exist for the marketing of residential and commercial properties, although these may be more appropriately viewed as listing services rather than markets.