Real estate development

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Real estate development is a multifaceted business, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re-lease of existing building to the purchase of raw land and the sale of improve parcels to others. Developers are the coordinators of those activities, converting ideas on paper into real property. They create, imagine, fund, control and orchestrate the process of development from the beginning to end. Developers usually take the greatest risk in the creation or renovation of real estate -- and receive the greatest rewards. Typically, developers purchase a tract of land, determine the target market, develop the building program and design, obtain the necessary public approvals and financing, build the structure, and lease, manage, and ultimately sell it.

Paths for Entering the Development Field

No single path leads automatically to success in real estate development. Developers come from a variety of disciplines--real estate brokerage, mortgage banking, consulting, construction, lending, architecture, legal services, among others. Recent specialized programs that award a Master of Real Estate Development degree are also available. The graduate programs in real estate development are the most comprehensive education in the industry. Other formal education includes a Master of Science in Real Estate, or an MBA.

Organizing for Development

No matter how talented an individual, development is a team effort. A development team can be put together in one of several ways. At one extreme, a large company might include many services, from architecture to engineering. At the other end of the spectrum, a development company might consist of one principal and a few staff who hire or contract with other companies and professionals for each service as needed.

Assembling a team of professionals to address the environmental, economic, physical and political issues inherent in a complex development project is critical. A developer's success depends on the ability to coordinate the completion of a series of interrelated activities efficiently and at the appropriate time.

The development process requires skills of many professionals: architects, landscape architects, and site planners to address project design; market consultants to determine demand and a project's economics; attorneys to handle agreements and government approvals; environmental consultants and soils engineers to analyze a site's physical limitations and environmental impacts; surveyors and title companies to provide legal descriptions of a property; and lenders to provide financing.

Land Development

Subdivision of land is the principal mechanism by which communities are developed. Technically, subdivision describes the legal and physical steps a developer must take to convert raw land into developed land. Subdivision is a vital part of a community's growth, determining its appearance, the mix of its land uses, and its infrastructure, including roads, drainage systems, water, sewerage, and public utilities. In general, land development is the riskiest but most profitable technique as it is so dependent on the public sector for approvals and infrastructure and because it involves a long investment period with no positive cash flow.

After subdivision is complete, the developer usually markets the land to a home builder or other end user, for such uses as a warehouse or shopping center.

Multifamily Residential Development

Garden Apartments -- One, two-, and sometimes three-story walk up buildings built of wood frame on slab with repeated floor plans.

Office Development

Industrial Development

Retail Development

Notable Developers

• Candy & Candy
• Gerald D. Hines
• Bellway
• Cheung Kong Group
• Delfin Lend Lease
• DLF Universal
• Donald Trump
• Emaar Properties
• Harry Helmsley, deceased husband of Leona Helmsley
• Harry Triguboff
• James Rouse
• John Portman
• Microsoft founder, Paul Allen
• Mirvac
• Olympia and York
• Sino Group
• Sun Hung Kai Properties
• Tishman Speyer
• Trammell Crow
• William Levitt
• Alfred Taubman
• Sir Alan Sugar
• Bluegreen Communities
• John Vartan

See also

• Real estate investing
• Urban planning
• Urban design
• Architecture
• List of house types
• Landscape Architecture

External links

• The Urban Land Institute - A professional association for real estate developers and related professions
• National Real Estate Investor magazine
• NAIOP - NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, is a leading resource for information, access and advocacy that supports the advancement of sustainable commercial real estate development.