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

The Exclusive Agency Listing is regularly confused with the Exclusive Right to Sell Listing, but they are not the same. True: on both Listings, only 1 Broker or Agent has the right to sell ...

Generally, a legal notice implies a method of official notification to an individual, organization, company, or the public that a particular event is about to occur. We can call a ...

Trying to resolve a problem between two individuals up with some compromise or common ground. It occurs more often during times of poor economic conditions. An example is a creditor ...

(1) Paved roadway constructed above lowlands such as a swamp. (2) Roadway in ancient Egypt connecting the valley temple with a pyramid. ...

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 ...

A municipal or county local government board that resolves zoning disputes. ...

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 ...

Type of ownership by husband and wife, recognized in 27 states, in which the rights of the deceased spouse pass to the survivor. It is the same as joint tenancy, except that one spouse ...

The definition of trade-in in real estate refers to a swap of houses. The trade-in program gives a seller of a property the chance to find an ideal replacement home for their family while ...

Popular Real Estate Questions