A Brownfield is developed real property which may or may not be contaminated or environmentally impacted from prior use. These unknown conditions raise questions standing in the way of the property’s sale or redevelopment, which reduce its value and require investigation and assessment. Examples of Brownfields include former industrial sites, gas stations, dry cleaners, fuel and chemical depots and any other property that used or contained hazardous materials or petroleum. Brownfields also include properties affected by contamination migrating from a neighboring or nearby property. Brownfields may not be contaminated in reality, but suspicion creates stigma that impairs the property’s potential.

A Greyfield is developed real property suffering from excess vacancy, prolonged idleness, blight, use failure or even total abandonment—but also possessing (potentially) reusable infrastructure, such as parking lots, utility hookups, or structures. Examples of Greyfields include obsolete retail and commercial properties and abandoned office complexes, as well as mothballed, decommissioned and legacy industrial facilities. Similar to Brownfields, Greyfields may be blighted or in substantial disrepair, but unlike Brownfields they have no known or suspected environmental contamination of any significance.

A greenfield is undeveloped real estate with no previous use. Many also consider a property only used for light agricultural purposes to be a greenfield. An undeveloped property may yet have environmental contamination—if, for example, it is adjacent to a property that is leaking hazardous substances across the property boundary—but such a property would not be considered a greenfield and would be better classified as a Brownfield (or possibly a Redfield).

A Redfield is real property with known environmental contaminants or conditions that the owner, the government or a reliable third party have determined is in need of remediation as a prerequisite to future development—to mitigate potential human health risks or to comply with environmental laws. Many Redfields are already subject to government regulatory orders or enrolled in voluntary cleanup programs. Unlike a Brownfield, there can be no doubt about whether a Redfield is contaminated. A Redfield is affirmatively known to be contaminated and will likely require active remediation in its redevelopment. Contaminated property could fit into the definition of Brownfield; however, selecting Redfield as the primary statussignals the marketplace that real estate reuse requires corrective action and such remediation is sought.

If the property status has not been determined or is unknown by the lister, it may be selected as "undetermined."

A Bluefield possesses water resources itself or has access to a navigable body of water such as a river, sea or ocean—either directly or via canal or port.

Greenfield Acres are undeveloped areas of a partially-developed property that have never been put to use other than perhaps light agricultural production. Many Brownfield, Greyfield and Redfield properties contain areas never put into productive use that remain otherwise unaffected by activities elsewhere on the property or neighboring properties. These kinds of Greenfield Acres are sometimes referred to as “the back forty.”Greenfield Acres can appeal to certain developers, who may see value or potential in using greenfield acreage in a wider site plan.

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