Real estate development

Building a company in the field of real estate development (also known as property development) encompasses a wide variety of operations ranging from the rehabilitation and re-lease of existing buildings to the acquisition of undeveloped land and the sale of developed area or parcels to third parties. Those individuals and organisations responsible for coordinating all of these efforts and transforming ideas into tangible assets are known as real estate developers. It is important to distinguish between real estate development and construction or housebuilding, even though many developers supervise the construction process or participate in housebuilding.

Developers purchase land, finance real estate transactions, construct or commission the construction of projects, develop projects in joint ventures, and conceptualise, conceive, control, and orchestrate the whole development process from start to finish. Developers are often the ones that take the most risks in the development or refurbishment of real estate, and they are also the ones who get the highest returns. The typical development process begins with the acquisition and marketing of a plot of land, followed by the development of a construction programme and design, obtaining essential governmental permission and finance, constructing the buildings, and then renting out, managing, and eventually selling the property.

Property developers may only take on a portion of the procedure at a time. Consider the following scenario: some developers locate a site and get approvals for the plans and permits before selling the land with the plans and permissions to a builder at a higher price. Alternatively, a developer who is a builder may purchase a property that already has the plans and permits in place, so eliminating the danger of failing to gain planning permission and allowing them to begin building on the development immediately after purchasing the land.

Each phase of the process requires developers to collaborate with a variety of diverse stakeholders, including architects, city planners, engineers, surveyors, inspectors, contractors, attorneys, and leasing agents, among others. In the context of Town and Country Planning under the United Kingdom, the term "development" is defined in Section 55 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.