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

Certification granted by the Realtors National Marketing Institute, which is affiliated with the National Association of Realtors. ...

The process of upgrading unusable land through making physical improvements. For example, swamp land can be drained and filled in order to make it usable. Barren land can be reforested by ...

To enter illegally. For example, entering property without permission. ...

In land surveying, the point al which two properties intersect constituting a boundary line between the properties. A corner can be determined by either a survey or general agreement ...

Having two families live in a residence designed for only one family. This violates single-family residence zoning. ...

Storage of inactive items, including automobiles, for a certain period. Normally, a storage facility, charging a fee, provides dead storage of items. To prevent deterioration, dead ...

An agreement in which the trustee takes title of the property ( called corpus) owned by the grantor (donor) to protect or conserve it for either the grantor or the trust's beneficiary. The ...

Power of attorney giving permission for a lawyer to represent a client. ...

Transfer of title based on a preceding title transfer of conveyance. A derivative conveyance increases, ratifies, moderates, renews or transfers the stake created by the original ...

Popular Real Estate Questions