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

Administering and directing the activities of a real estate brokerage firm to assure they are in compliance with regulations and policies. ...

Member Of the American Institute of Real Estate Appraisers. ...

Body o law relating directly to condominiums and cooperative developments. Most property law provides vertical ownership of property in the sense that property owners own mineral rights as ...

Money paid for a real estate project or investment that can be taken off on the tax return as an expense. Expenditures made during construction of a building that do not go directly into ...

Value is exchanged by the parties to an agreement involving current or future performance making it legally enforceable. Without reasonable consideration for performance, the contract may ...

Welcome to the world of magical yet perplexing real estate! Undeniably, there's a lot to learn, but we're here to explain miscellaneous terminology so that you can make educated decisions. ...

Removal of a tenant from a portion of a rented or leased premise. ...

Need to know the Ad Litem definition after coming across this weird term? Ad litem is short for “Guardian Ad Litem” or “Attorney Ad litem”, a legal term that ...

Determining the measurements of a specific location. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions