Become A Real Estate Developer - Business Ideas

Updated: September 15th, 2022
Become A Real Estate Developer

Please note that the data provided in this article are estimates and may vary depending on various factors, and should not be considered as perfect or definitive.

A real estate developer is responsible for overseeing all the people involved in building or renovating homes, offices, retail centers, or industrial sites. Real estate developers are the people who turn empty land or neglected buildings into new properties.

To become a real estate developer, you need some initial capital and also be able to convince other people that your project is worth investing in. What kind of development you want to undertake should be clear to you, and you should be able to persuade others and make them see this venture will be financially successful.

Becoming a real estate developer requires a great deal of effort, dedication, and most importantly passion.

If you're interested in how to sell real estate developement services, or selling real estate developement services online, you can use this page as a guide for everything you'll need to know.

Key Stats

market size
$2.69T
starting costs
$18K
gross margin
90%
time to build
270 days
growth
Organic social media
business model
Subscriptions
time investment
Full time

Startup Costs

Min Startup Costs Max Startup Costs

Employee & Freelancer Expenses

$151

$252

Website Costs

$223

$7,015

Business Formation Fees

$600

$4,700

Vehicle Expenses

$0

$10,000

Retail Business Expenses

$1,250

$6,650

Advertising & Marketing Costs

$75

$3,986

Software Expenses

$162

$2,720

Office Space Expenses

$0

$100

Specific Industry Expenses

$0

$500

Total Startup Costs

$2,461

$35,923

Successful Businesses

Business URL Rank

Athena Brownson

athenabrownsonrealtor.com/

7,460

Emaar Properties

emaar.com

83,944

Urban Land Institute

uli.org

112,683

Hines

hines.com

235,320

NAIOP

naiop.org

394,317

Onni Group

onni.com

534,213

unknown

lusail.com

593,394

RXR Realty

rxrrealty.com

668,253

Silverstein Properties

silversteinproperties.com

682,966

Phoenix Group

phoenixindia.net

754,380

Open Door Capital

odcfund.com

837,690

Pros & Cons

Pros Description

Little startup costs required

The cost to start a real estate developer costs significantly less money than most businesses, ranging anywhere from 62 to 35,923.

Rewarding work

Starting a real estate developer can be really rewarding work. After all, you are solving an immediate issue for your customer and you're working on something you truly care about.

High customer retention rates

Once a customer invests in your product, they've invested their time and energy to utilize your product/service which is highly valuable to them. Typically, your product or service becomes indispensable to your customer.

Pick & choose the clients you work with

Real Estate Developeres have the ability to choose the clients they work with. You have the freedom to work with only a few loyal clients or with hundreds of clients!

Control of workload

With becoming a real estate developer, you have the unique ability to choose how little or how much you want to work. You also have the freedom to decide which projects you want to work on, and can turn down the ones that do not interest you.

Gain exposure and experience

This career allows you to gain experience working for multiple different businesses - which will benefit your resume and also keep things interesting for you!

Cons Description

Motivation of employees

If you plan to have a sales/content team on board, finding creative ways to motivate them can be a challenge. It's important that you're able to offer great incentives and a good work environment for your employees.

Longer Sales Process

A real estate developer can be a big time and money investment for your customer, so it's important you plan and predict a longer conversion funnel and stay in communication with potential customers.

Work can be inconsistent

As a real estate developer, the amount of work assigned to you and schedule tends to be more inconsistent, which may make your income less stable. It's important to set boundaries and budget accordingly based on the amount of work you plan to have.

Lack of benefits

With a real estate developer, you are typically self-employed and responsible for finding your own insurance, which can be quite costly and time-consuming.

Taxes

As a real estate developer, you typically pay self-employment taxes which can be quite high. It's important to understand what you will be paying in taxes each year so you can determine if the work you're taking on is worth it.

No safety net

Typically, as a real estate developer, you do not receive a consistent pay-check and instead earn money based on your transactions each month. During the slow periods, you typically take away less since the job is based on commission. It's important to budget accordingly for the slow times.

Marketing Ideas

  • 1

    Direct Sales

    Direct sales strategy implies a direct contact between a seller and a consumer without the involvement of any third party. Direct selling is popular in sectors where sellers communicate with their clientele personally. The sales technique occurs at non-store locations which include at home, work, or online.

    For direct selling to succeed, hire a few (or many) salespeople to support the sales conversion process. It's critical that you assign them specific roles and responsibilities to nurture the client and provide excellent support.

    Learn more about direct sales ➜

  • 2

    Word of mouth

    Word of mouth is when a consumers reflects their interest in a company’s product or service in their daily dialogues.

    Therefore, word of mouth advertising is essentially a free advertising triggered by the customers experience.

    According to Nielsen, 92% of people trust recommendations from friends and family.

    Therefore, in today’s hyper-connected world, a single recommendation through a word of mouth can have a huge impact to your business.

    Learn more about word of mouth ➜

  • 3

    Social Media Advertising

    Social media advertising is the use of social media platforms to connect with your audience with the objective to build your brand, increase sales, and drive website traffic.

    According to Oberlo, approximately 48% of the global population use social media, and the number is ever-growing.

    Therefore, social media allows brands access to cost-effective advertising by enabling them to interact with a large audience.

    Learn more about social media advertising ➜