Despite what Publication 946 says, I am convinced that depreciation *IS* allowable for real estate even if it is in service for less than a year.
I've never seen anything anywhere that says it's not allowed. All I've seen is that for property placed in service and taken out of service in the same tax year, depreciation is not required. The only "requirement" is that the class life of the asset be more than 12 months.
but what is the difference between a "property" and "real estate" in the context of your post?
Can't speak for context. But "real estate" is a narrower term that refers to just that; real estate composed of land and/or a structure. Where as property can include real estate in one's contextual use, as well as other types of business assets. For example, in a dental office there will be dental chairs. These things can costs upwards of $30K each. That could be referred to as depreciable business property. It obviously would not be real estate.
