Is there such a thing as false estate?

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In the UK we have estate agents - these are the people with High Street shop windows who will sell your house for you or help you to buy one. We don't, however, usually talk about "estate" in this context - we have "housing estates", but that term has a different connotation. An American would use the term "real estate" when talking about housing stock, but that has always confused me. If housing is "real" estate, what counts as "false" estate? Can anyone enlighten me, please?