REALTY and the terms real property and real estate denote the interest one has in lands; it applies not only to ground but to everything which is attached or a part of it, as trees, stones, houses or other structures. Timber, grain and grass rooted to the soil are realty, though when severed they become personalty. Any crop which is an annual product of the soil when ripe is considered as personal property. Permanent buildings erected on one's land with out permission become the property of the owner of such land, without regard to the own ership of the materials. Fixtures or things which have been attached to the realty and can not be removed without. injury to it, or which have become so adapted to the building or land as to be necessary to its use, are considered a part of the realty. In addition to the elements of realty which have been above described, are rights which are connected therewith, such for example as a right of way, a right to the use of a water course and easements. An uninter rupted use of any easement or right for 20 years or any less period fixed by statute raises presumption of title. The various estates which one may possess in realty had their origin in the feudal system of England, the fundamental principle of which is that the king was the original proprietor of all the land in his king dom, and no one came into any part of it except by gift from him, or in return for feudal services, and thus the land was divided among a graded body of owners beginning with the king's noblemen. In the United States all the
instances of feudal tenure have been abolished. In Canada the tenure by which land is held varies in the different provinces, some being largely regulated by a statute enacted during the reign of George III.
Title has been defined as a means whereby the owner of lands has the just possession of his property; title may be acquired by descent, that is, through the death of an ancestor, by purchase or by operation of law. The legal title of land is usually transferred from one person to another by means of a deed, the many essentials of which are fixed by the statutes in various jurisdictions.
The assessed valuation of real property in the United States in 1916 was $51,159,000,000, of which more than ($11,146,000,000) was in New York State, and nearly one-tenth ($5,088,000,000) in New York City. Estimates of the actual value vary between $100,000,000,000 and $200,000,000,000.