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

A rental contact in which the tenant's rental is tied to a change in the price level, such as the Gross National Price Deflator. ...

Warranties issued by contractors, sellers, and real estate agencies that protect home buyers from specified defects in a house as per the contract. ...

Locating a structure after considering such factors as the homeowner's desired privacy, noise, wind, and sunlight. Position of a structure on a specific location relative to ...

Person or business that obtains mortgages for others by finding suitable lenders. The mortgage broker sometimes deals with collections and disbursements. Typically the mortgage broker ...

Significant information that if disclosed would affect an individual's decision. For example, a buyer would probably not enter into a contract with a seller of real property if it was known ...

The age at which one is legally capable of entering into binding contracts, signing a deed and negotiating business agreements. In most states this is the age of majority. Normally this is ...

Materials that are inherently noncombustible, are widely used in constructing exterior surfaces and include brick, aluminum siding, cement, and asbestos shingles. ...

Agreement between the lessee and lessor specifying the lessee's rights to use the leased property for a given time at a specified rental payment. As rental payments are made, rent expense ...

House made using standardized components that are preassembled on an assembly line in a factory rather than being built from "scratch" on a site. Normally, the prefabricate house is trucked ...

Popular Real Estate Questions