Real estate transaction

A real estate transaction is the process whereby rights in a unit of property (or designated real estate) are transferred between two or more parties, e.g. in the case of conveyance one party being the seller(s) and the other being the buyer(s). It can often be quite complicated due to the complexity of the property rights being transferred, the amount of money being exchanged, and government regulations. Conventions and requirements also vary considerably among different countries of the world and smaller legal entities (jurisdictions).

In more abstract terms, a real estate transaction, like other financial transactions, causes transaction costs. To identify and possibly reduce these transaction costs, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) addressed the issue^[1] through a study commissioned by the European Commission, ^[2] and through a research action.^[3]

The mentioned research action 'Modelling Real Property Transactions' investigated methods to describe selected transactions formally, to allow for comparisons across countries / jurisdictions. Descriptions were performed both using a more simple format, a Basic Use Case template,^[4][5] and more advanced applications of the Unified Modelling Language.^[6][7] Process models were compared through an ontology-based methodology,^[8] and national property transaction costs were estimated for Finland and Denmark,^[9][10][11] based on the directions of the United Nations System of National Accounts.^[12]

Real estate transactions: subdivision, conveyance, and mortgaging, as they are performed in the five Nordic countries are described in some detail.^[13] A translation into English is available for the Danish part.^[14]