What Do Developers Do?

Developers can be individuals, small partnerships, or large companies. Some operate in a single market, such as Houston or Atlanta, while others focus on a larger region, such as the northeastern United States, or even on the entire country. A few U.S. developers operate globally. Some developers maintain a small staff and outsource many development functions, while others employ a large number of professionals and perform most development functions in-house.

Deciding What to Build and Financial Feasibility

After deciding where they might want to build, developers decide what they might want to build, and whether to go ahead with the project.

How Developers Get Started

Developers start with the land on which they will build. To decide where to acquire land in a market, they first conduct a market study.

Product Sectors

Developers engage in either for-sale residential development or commercial development, which includes income-producing rental apartments. The “Real Estate Developers and Product” chart shows the major products of residential and commercial developers, and the following sections provide further details.

For-Sale Residential Development

Mixed Use

Multifamily Rental Development Product

Multifamily Rental

Hotel Development Product

Hotel

Industrial Development Product

Office Development Product

Office

Retail Development Product

Real Estate Developers and Product

Retail

Commercial Development

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