Definition of "Real estate developer"

Tia Ware real estate agent

Written by

Tia Wareelite badge icon

Southern Homes of the Carolinas

A developer is a person that designs or creates something that could be a concept, structure, product or service. An idea can be turned into something real, tangible and the person that does that is called a developer. The process followed by a person in order to create something can be called “development process” and the person is the developer.

As an example, a developer can be an individual that builds software. You might also find them under specific names such as programmers or software developers more. Web developers deal with web design and web development tasks. Content developers are usually individuals that create content fit to be published in a magazine or uploaded on a website.

Developers in real estate

Real estate development is the act of buying land, creating new buildings and selling the property for a profit. The person that coordinates the process is called a real estate developer. A real estate developer coordinates the whole process from the beginning to the end. From the initial project faze up until a building is created, the whole development process is imagined, initiated, orchestrated, and controlled by the real estate developer.

There is a whole process associated with creating a new building: deciding where to put it, borrowing money for the project, buying land, receiving permission for the building, design, build, finding buyers or tenants to occupy it and manage it. While there are many different counterparts that specialize in each individual step the real estate developers coordinate the whole process. Architects, city planners, inspectors, engineers, contractors, lawyers, surveyors, leasing agents are all coordinated by a real estate developer.

Developers in real estate are also risk-takers that invest a considerable amount of money in an attempt to gain a profit if the building is a success. In order for it to succeed, the real estate developer would have to rent out the building/facility or sell for a profit. This ultimately makes the real estate developer the person in charge, a risk manager, a person engaged in a business that can lead to high returns, but it can also cause severe losses.

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Federal agency that monitors the federal savings an loan associations and federally insured state-charted S&Ls. It acts as a central bank. ...

Room in a home where the occupants spend their leisure time. ...

Where property is sold to the highest bidder. ...

Sometimes, a perplexing legal term (a genuine headscratcher) emerges when buying or selling a property. You know you should know it, but its precise definition escapes you. Today's special ...

In urban areas, one way to organize urban development is to keep track of building density. The building density definition is a way to determine the concentration of buildings in a given ...

Substituting one party for another in an action giving that party full rights or claims. Foe example, an insurance company pays the insured for a fire loss caused to the home by a third ...

A written agreement between institutional investors to buy or sell ownership shares in mortgages. An institution such as a bank can agree to buy a certain number of shares in a single or ...

As a hopeful house hunter, renter, or seasoned real estate investor, you've probably come across baffling terms. One such term is "adhesion contract." It might sound complex, but don't ...

Self-employed contractor who may perform work on a structure such as residential or commercial property. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions