Contrary to popular belief, what property is and is not can be complicated.

In fact, property is a far more complex term than you may realise. Without the right knowledge and terminology, you could get caught up in an unexpected situation or agreement.

Financial jargon can be challenging, but at SovereignBoss, we're here to be your guide. We have an expert team that's dedicated years to understanding property finance and now we're ready to share.

Find out more now!

What is Property?

Property is more than just a dwelling. Instead, it can be anything of value that you own, including stocks, houses, clothes, cars, pets, or land.

For example, if you own a car, it's your property because it belongs to you and you purchased it with your money.

Simply put, property is something that you own¹.

There are many different types of property, including real estate and intellectual property.

The word "property" can also be an abstract idea that refers to the right to use or control something.

Types of Property in 2025

There are different types of property categories, namely intangible property and tangible property.

Let's see what each means.

Intangible Property

Intangible property, such as stocks and bond certificates², refers to assets that indicate current or potential worth, but do not have an inherent value.

Even though these are just pieces of paper, they could be worth a lot of money after stocks and bonds have reached their maturity dates.

Other sorts of intangible property, such as a company's reputation, are hazier and cannot be represented by a written document.

Intellectual property is also a form of intangible property. It refers to the ownership of design concepts, song lyrics, books, and scripts.

Despite the fact that these entities are not corporeal in nature, they may have great worth.

Tangible Property

Tangible property refers to physical objects that you can touch and move.

This can be further broken down in to personal property and real property.

Some good examples of tangible personal property include a car, piece of artwork, furniture and clothes.

Real property, however, refers to land, buildings and anything attached to them.

Ponds, buildings, reservoirs, canals, roads, and machinery are examples of real property.

Land law gives you the right to use, manage, and dispose of real property.

Assessing Property Assets

You could be rich in assets and not even know it!

An evaluation is the answer in 2025.

Item valuation is the process of determining the worth of a specific asset, such as stocks, options, bonds, buildings, machinery, or land.

This is typically done when a firm or asset is being sold, insured, or taken over.

Tangible and intangible assets are 2 types of assets classifications.

Valuations³ can be performed on either an asset or a liability, such as a company's bonds or your home when you are pursuing equity release.

Asset Valuation – Tangible Assets

Tangible assets have a physical form. This is like a phone, car, or an expensive piece of jewellery.

Fixed assets, such as structures, land, and machinery, and current assets like cash, are 2 types of tangible assets.

Company vehicles, IT equipment, investments, payments, and on-hand stocks are all examples of assets.

To figure out a company's net tangible assets, do the following:

• The business must examine its balance sheet to determine tangible and intangible assets.
• Subtract the value of intangible assets from the total asset worth calculation.
• Subtract the total value of the liabilities from the balance. The net tangible assets, also known as net asset value, are the only remaining assets.

Asset Valuation – Intangible Assets

Intangible assets⁴ are assets that do not have a physical form, but still bring value to the organisation in one form or another.

Patents, logos, franchises, and trademarks are examples of intangible assets.

Assume a multinational corporation with $15 billion* in assets falls bankrupt one day and has no tangible assets remaining.

It may still be worth something because of its intangible assets, such as its logo and patents, which many investors and other businesses may be interested in purchasing.

* These figures are used for indicative purposes only.

Common Questions

In Conclusion

The definition of property is an idea that has evolved over time, and in 2025, things have certainly progressed.

As society’s needs and desires change, so do the definitions of what constitutes property.

You can also use contract law, which allows people to sell rights but not the actual item itself.

In the world of property, ownership is a fundamental concept. The short and sweet answer to what is property is that it's something you own and nobody else has any claim to it.