Over the past years, I've picked the minds of real estate developers in the United States and Europe, first as a graduate student in Columbia University's Real Estate Development program, then as a developer myself.

To understand what all great developers have in common, I'll roughly split them in 3 groups.

Design Developers

For them, the idea of a project starts with an image in their minds: a Bentley-branded residence, a Porsche-Design tower.

This is a marketing-intensive approach, where the building opening will likely feature celebrities and an elaborate firework show. Of course, this strategy can work, but it's not the norm. These developers are the first to struggle in a weaker market.

Construction Developers

They usually owned construction companies before going into development and will talk for hours about the right way to build a project. You should listen.

The competitive advantage of these developers is cost. They can build a building with fewer delays and budget overruns. They tend to be successful but occasionally get caught up in a bad market.

Finance Developers

For them, the idea of a building starts on the back of an envelope and then grows in an Excel spreadsheet.

It's not that they do not care about design or construction efficiency; they care a lot. But leave these areas to experts. Their core skill is finance, so if a project's financial metrics don't make sense, they quickly move on to the next. They analyze the most deals of all these groups.

It is this final type that has the upper hand. They can usually withstand market shocks better and create the most value through their projects. Theirs might not be the iconic tower by a star architect, but they will be around to build one in the future.