Do all exchanges involve the swapping or trading with other property owners?

No, before delayed exchanges were codified in 1984, all simultaneous exchange transactions required the actual swapping of deeds and simultaneous closing among all parties to an exchange. Oft times these exchanges were comprised of dozens of exchanging parties as well as numerous exchange properties. But today, there is no such requirement to swap your property with someone else in order to complete an exchange. The 1031 exchange rules have been streamlined to the extent that the current process is reflective more of your qualifying intent rather than the logistics of the property closing.