what are types of real estate 
residential real estate any property used for residential purposes examples include single family homes condos cooperatives duplexes townhouses and multifamily residences commercial real estate any property used exclusively for business purposes such as apartment complexes gas stations grocery stores hospitals hotels offices parking facilities restaurants shopping centers stores and theaters industrial real estate any property used for manufacturing production distribution storage and research and development land includes undeveloped property vacant land and agricultural lands such as farms orchards ranches and timberland special purpose property used by the public such as cemeteries government buildings libraries parks places of worship and schools the economics of real estatereal estate is a critical driver of economic growth in the u s and housing starts the number of new residential construction projects in any given month released by the u s census bureau is a key economic indicator the report includes building permits housing starts and housing completions data for single family homes homes with 2 4 units and multifamily buildings with five or more units such as apartment complexes1investors and analysts keep a close eye on housing starts because the numbers can provide a general sense of economic direction moreover the types of new housing starts can give clues about how the economy is developing if housing starts indicate fewer single family and more multifamily starts it could signal an impending supply shortage for single family homes driving up home prices the following chart shows 20 years of housing starts from jan 1 2000 to feb 1 2020 2