Property development, also known as real estate development, is a business process that involves a range of activities, from the renovation and re-lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to others

. Property developers are the people and companies who coordinate all of these activities, converting ideas from paper to real property. They buy land, finance real estate deals, build or have builders build projects, develop projects in joint ventures, and create, imagine, control, and orchestrate the process of development from beginning to end

. Property development is different from construction or housebuilding, although many developers also manage the construction process or engage in housebuilding

. Developers usually take the greatest risk in the creation or renovation of real estate and receive the greatest rewards

. The property development industry is comprised of numerous different elements, including building a property from the ground up, renovating an existing property, and converting properties to serve a different function to that it originally held