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

Legal obligation to pay taxes associated with owning property or earning income. For example, a real estate owner must pay property taxes. ...

The term over-improvement in real estate defines a substantial and somewhat exaggerated land improvement compared to other properties in the area. For example, an individual builds at a ...

People say time is money. The old-age cliche applies more than ever in our case as we define what the Time Value of Money (TVM) means.  You’ll find the term time value for money ...

Government owned lands, for conservation purposes or for specific uses such as dams and hydropower. Public lands are owned by federal, state, and local governments. Many public lands are ...

Flood insurance is a type of home insurance created to protect a homeowner’s property against damages caused by floods. Flood insurance is typically not included in the regular ...

Form of real estate organization created by an agreement between two or more individuals who contribute capital and/or their services. Advantages are: it is easily established with minimal ...

The appraisal approach is used to estimate the value of an asset, based on various factors to reach the closest educated guess of the asset. While an appraisal approach does consider the ...

Small furnace placed between the studs of a wall. It is typically electric, but in the past more frequently was gas. ...

Tax deduction permitted upon the transfer of property from one spouse to another. The deduction is allowed under the federal gift tax for lifetime transfers or under the federal estate tax ...

Popular Real Estate Questions