Price Appreciation 
Increase in the value of real estate or personal property. The price may increase because of a number of factors, such as shortage in supply, improved economy, favorable political environment, tax incentives, increased profitability. 

Price Fixing
Illegal effort by competing businesses to maintain a uniform price, such as commission rate on the sale of real estate. 

Price-Level Adjusted Mortgage 
Interest rate on a mortgage is changed periodically based on the change in a general price index to take into account inflation, such as a yearly adjustment. 

Price Range 
Upper and lower limits of what a buyer will pay for a home. 

Prick Punch 
Tapered punch that makes small indentations, with its pointed, slender shank, along the lines on a piece of metal to make the line more visible. 

Prima Facie
Latin for at first sight. Fact assumed to be true unless subsequent evidence disproves it. 

Primary Beneficiary 
The person who will receive the benefits of a trust or insurance policy, when distribution is made. 

Primary Coil 
First coil in an electrical transformer. 

Primary Financing
Loan that comes before all other loans in the event of default.

Primary Lease 
Rental agreement between the owner and a tenant. When the tenant rents to someone else, it is called a sublease. 

Primary Location 
Real estate which is located in the most excellent area for it's designated use. 

Primary Market Area 
A regional area from which one can expect the greatest demand for a specific product or service.

Primary Mortgage Market 
Mortgage market in which original loans are made by lenders. The market is made up with lenders who supply funds directly to borrowers and hold the mortgage until the debt is paid. 

Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) 
A classification of the U.S. Census Bureau applied to cities with the following classifications. Within a metropolitan area with a population of one million or more, there may be areas that would qualify as metropolitan areas on their own, yet are linked to other cities in close proximity. These individual areas are called Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas, while the metropolitan area containing these PMSAs is called a Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Area (CMSA).

Prime Contractor 
Contractor who assumes responsibility for completing a construction project, under contract to the owner, and hires, supervises and pays all subcontractors. 

Prime Lending Rate
Minimum short-term interest rate charged by commercial banks to their most creditworthy clients. Prime is used as the basis for mortgages, business and personal loans, etc. Mortgages are usually several points above the prime rate. 

Prime Tenant 
Major tenant in an office building or shopping center. The prime tenant occupies more space than the others and will attract customers to the site. They are normally more credit worthy. 

Primer
Initial coat of paint or sealant applied to a surface in preparation for painting. The primer seals the surface and provides a good base for additional coats of paint or other material. 

Principal
1. Amount of money originally borrowed, minus any payments subsequently made.
2. First in importance; a primary person; a head or chief of something.

Principal Broker 
The licensed broker responsible for the operations conduced by the firm. 

Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance (PITI) 
Payment amount calculated to include the principal, interest, taxes and insurance on an amortizing loan and represents the borrower's actual monthly mortgage-related expenses. 

Principal Meridian 
Principal line running north and south in the government rectangular survey method. Other meridians, each 24 miles apart, are surveyed from the principal meridian. 

Principal Residence
Primary residence of an individual; the place where a person lives most of the time. May be a single-family house, condominium, trailer or houseboat. A principal residence may qualify for a homestead rebate. 

Principle of Conformity 
The concept that a house will be more likely to appreciate in value if it is similar to other houses in the neighborhood.

Principle of Progression
Appraisal term stating that the value of lower-end real estate is enhanced by the proximity of higher-end properties. 

Principle of Regression 
Appraisal term stating that the value of higher-end real estate can be brought down by the proximity to lower-end properties.

Principle of Substitution 
Highest amount a property is worth equal to the amount that would have to be paid to buy equivalent property in the market place. 

Principal of Supply and Demand 
Economic principle determining the market prices of goods, services, and property. The principle states that there is a pricing relationship between supply and demand. Economic forces interact affecting the overall pricing relationship. If demand increases and the supply remains constant, then the price will increase. However, an increase in price will then spur increased supply, which will tend to depress prices. 

Print Free 
Term for paint that is dry and cannot be damaged by touching. 

Prior
Something that came before. 

Priority
Something having a higher level of importance or ranking. Preference, precedence. 

Prism 
1. Anything that refracts light. 
2. Crystalline body whose lateral faces meet at edges parallel to each other. 
3. A solid, transparent figure whose ends are parallel, polygonal and equal in size and shape and whose sides are parallelograms. 

Privacy Fence 
Structure erected between two pieces of property. 

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
Insurance on some loans, which protects lenders from possible default by borrower. Conventional loans with down payments of less than 20 per cent of the home value usually require private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Private Offering 
An offering of securities, stock and/or debt, directly to investors (usually large institutional investors) rather than through the public exchange markets. An advantage of a private placement to a real estate business is that the securities do not have to be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

Private Property 
Privately owned property. 

Private Sewer 
Sewer that belongs to the building where it is installed but discharges into the public sewer. Also known as a building sewer. 

Privity 
A successive relationship to or a mutual interest in the same property or rights, established by law or legalized by contract. A private or secret knowledge, as shared between persons.