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

income statement destroyed by a casualty such as a fire. This requires the reconstruction of the income statement based on source records, information, and documents. Income statement ...

Marketable title that is free of encumbrances and disputed interests. Clear title is essential in order to convey a general warranty deed in a transaction. ...

Process of simultaneously appraising several pieces of property. Normally, occurs when a local government conducts a reassessment. ...

Lienholder's statement as to the unpaid balance on a trust deed note. ...

Written document by an official granting agency and signed by an empowered official certifying that some specific act including the fulfillment of certain requirements has occurred on a ...

Opinion of a judge having no direct legal or binding effect on the outcome of a pending judicial decision. An obiter dictum is considered to be an incidental judicial remark about some ...

Loan in which two or more lenders participate in the total financing of a single mortgage. The lenders in a piggyback loan do not necessarily have equal shares. ...

Judicial order prohibiting a person or business from doing something. The court may issue this dictate when unlawful conduct or activity is occurring. ...

See annuity due. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions