Ask the REALTOR: What’s the difference between a builder and a developer?

Ask the REALTOR® is a regular video series in which I answer your most commonly-asked real estate questions, with a new Q&A posting every week. If YOU have a real estate question for me, drop me a note here.

This week’s question: What’s the difference between a builder and a developer? Here’s the answer in this brief video, and don’t miss the transcript below.

(RSS subscribers, please click here if you can’t see the video in your feed reader. Thanks!)

Transcript:

Hi, this is Cari McGee with Keller Williams Realty. Welcome to this week’s episode of “Ask the Realtor.” Every week I answer questions from buyers and sellers — and pretty much everyone in between — regarding real estate.

This week’s question is: “Cari, what’s the difference, and is there a difference, between a builder and a developer?”

Oftentimes they are not the same person, and there is a difference. Every so often, the builder and the developer will be the same person, but here’s the scoop.

A developer has raw land, and they prepare it for a builder to build houses on. They will have the streets laid out. They will get the connections to sewer and public water nearby. They’ll name the streets after ancient Greek cities or birds, and they will basically prep it so that a builder can come in and build their product on the lots that are available.

So, builder and developer, not the same thing. Oftentimes, not the same person, either. Sometimes can be, but they do different things.

So I hope that answers your question, and if you have any other questions for me regarding real estate, by all means, give me a shout via any one of the methods that follow on the next screen. Thanks so much! Bye.