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Define Acre in Real Estate
Acre:
An "Acre" is a unit of measurement used to describe the size of a piece of land. It's equal to 43,560 square feet. To help you visualize it, imagine a football field without the end zones; that's about the size of an acre.
Example:
Your friend's family is buying a piece of land to build their dream house. The land is 2 acres in size. This means they'll have plenty of space for their house, a big backyard, and maybe even a swimming pool.
"A Deep Dive for Real Estate Agents and Appraisers"
A few more points about acres:
The origin of the 43,560 square feet in an acre is rooted in historical measurement systems. An acre was initially defined as the amount of land that a single ox could plow in one day. However, this measurement was not standardized, so the size of an acre could vary based on local custom and the efficiency of the ox.
To bring more consistency to land measurements, the British imperial system established a standardized definition of an acre. They combined two previously used measurements: the chain and the furlong. A chain was a length of 66 feet, and a furlong was 660 feet, which is equivalent to 10 chains.
In the standardized definition, an acre was defined as the area of a rectangle with a length of 1 furlong (660 feet) and a width of 1 chain (66 feet). When you multiply these two measurements, you get:
660 feet (1 furlong) × 66 feet (1 chain) = 43,560 square feet
That's why an acre is now defined as 43,560 square feet, which has remained the standard measurement in the United States.
NOTE: An acre can be any shape, not just square or rectangular. The key factor is that the total area should be 43,560 square feet.
"Wit & Whimsy with the Dumb Ox: Unlocking Knowledge with Rhyme:"
In the world of lands and lots, a term you'll want to know,
An Acre is its name, it's how land size we show.
Forty-three thousand square feet, and five hundred sixty more,
A measure of a piece of land, from shore to distant shore.
A family seeks a plot, to build their dream retreat,
Two acres wide and long, they find a space that's neat.
A house, a yard, a pool, so much room to spare,
The Acre tells the story, of land both here and there.
So when you study real estate, and terms you need to learn,
Remember Acre is the measure, for land at every turn!