Real Estate Glossary for Your Clients

Do you work with first-time buyers and sellers? We bet you do! If you want to provide above and beyond service to clients who may be new to the real estate industry (or getting involved again after a really long time), consider helping them get comfortable with real estate terms by providing access to a real estate glossary.

Whether you choose to add a page to your website or create a print out to include in your new client package, a glossary will empower buyers and sellers with knowledge, as well as increase the level of understanding as you work together to achieve results.

Below we've provided some simplified definitions for some commonly used (and commonly misunderstood) real estate terms. Feel free to share these with your clients as you choose. Of course, there are many other terms we didn't include. If you want to add to this list, take a look at a more in-depth glossary like this one.

If you don't feel like creating your own glossary or sharing ours, there are even real estate glossary apps. Clients can have on-the-go access on their smartphones or tablets by clicking here for iOS or here for Android.

Common Real Estate Terms and Their Definitions

Appraisal – The process of estimating or setting the market value of a piece of property, partially based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes in the area. An appraisal usually takes the form of a written report. Appraisals are usually required during the mortgage loan approval process.

Closing Costs – For buyers, closing costs consist of expenses that must be paid in addition to the purchase price of the home, like... For sellers, closing costs include expenses that will be deducted from the proceeds of the sale, like...

Commission – Compensation paid to real estate professionals for services rendered in connection with the sale or exchange of real property.