How did 'estate' evolve to mean 'area of land or property'?

Well, someone with some status (def 3) frequently owned land (def 1) in times past.

I don't see the transition being that difficult.

I can't explain it a hundred per cent. One of the meanings of status in Latin was already wealthiness. In French the word état was used by lawyers as inventory of possessions. In American English one sense of estate became "landed property, usually of considerable size" (AHD).

So, if one wants to study the semantic change of Latin status towards landed property this needs to have a closer look at the use of the word in Latin, French and American English, and to study law language.

https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=estate&submit.x=48&submit.y=31

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=estate&searchmode=none

Definition 3, special social status/standing, was already one of the meanings in Latin. This meaning did not evolve to landed property. Landed property evolved over French état des bien (list of possessions) and got a new meaning in American law language.

Indeed, it is just some semantic shift taking place overtime. The original word is latin "aestas" or "aestatis," meaning summer. From a surface analysis, the logic has shifted in English to dwellings or up-scale living spaces the wealthy enjoy, especially during their months away from work - often times, summer months - not surprising, if you keep in mind the latin origin. The default prototype in my own mind is "a summer estate"