At the first Industry Insights of the year on February 22, The Real Estate Council and Real Estate Deal Sheet brought high net worth and family office experts together to discuss investment opportunities and philosophies while examining the market’s current state. John Calandro, managing director at The Calandro Group, got the ball rolling with his keynote address, which was followed by two panel discussions moderated by Gina Norris, senior vice president, partner relations at Matthews Southwest.
Panelists included William Flaherty, Rosewood Property Company, Elizabeth Lund, Palette Investment Company, Matt Mildren, Tug Hill Real Estate Partners, King Scovell, Woodbine Development Corporation, J. Searcy, Tailwind Real Estate Equities, LLC, Michael Smith, TRT Holdings, Inc., Bill Vanderstraaten, Chief Partners, LP, and Kevin Youngblood, Sowell & Company.
Here are five questions addressed at Industry Insights: High Net Worth & Family Office.
- What is happening in the stock market?
John Calandro did not shy away from this question, despite the interesting political and economic time we’re in. From Calandro’s perspective, we are currently in a secular bull market. Baseball analogies rang through the Dallas Country Club throughout this event and Calandro offered the first – we are only in the bottom of the second inning of this market.
- What is the real estate market’s current outlook – especially in Texas?
The consensus from the two panels – complete with wealth management consultants, those responsible for identifying investment opportunities, including those who acquire and develop properties, and those who manage all the assets – was that the Texas real estate market is strong, but many are beginning to exercise caution. To use another baseball analogy, “we are at the bottom of the seventh, but for all we know, it could end up as an 11-inning game.”
- What are family offices feeling about the current market?
Family offices are private wealth management advisory firms that serve ultra-high-net-worth investors. With the current outlook, panelists agreed that whatever you purchase from here on out, be comfortable with holding it for a while.
- What geographic areas in Texas are exceling real estate wise?
Development in Dallas, Frisco and Fort Worth is booming. The smaller surrounding cities, however, are where many of the opportunities still exist. Expect to see more action in Garland, McKinney, South Dallas, Grapevine and other similar areas.
- What do you look for in choosing partners in this business?
The opinions on this question ran the gamut. Bill Flaherty suggested he considers a partnership a failure if it only results in one deal. His team prefers long-term partners over multiple deals to ensure trust, increase the ability to move quickly and keep costs such as legal fees to a minimum. Bill Vanderstraaten, conversely, highlighted over 40 successful partnerships in recent years and prioritizes partners that bring specialized expertise and exceed expectations. But all agreed the fit (culturally speaking) is crucial and are the true recipes for success.
Catch future Industry Insights events and mark your calendars for these dates and topics:
- May 24: Institutional Capital
- Sept. 13: Capital Markets
- Nov. 1: Office & Industrial
Beth Groen is an architectural designer at Perkins+Will and is currently a team member in their civic, commercial and corporate sector. She has past experience in multifamily architecture and is an avid member of TREC and CREW.