3 min read March 2023 — Alex Sifakis is president of JWB Real Estate Companies in Jacksonville and is laser focused on ensuring the public is able to reap the benefits of the region’s growth. In an interview with Invest:, he discussed doing away with exclusive private placements in real estate investing, why he’s not concerning himself with other markets and how technology has the potential to change the industry.
How has increased land demand affected the way you conduct business?
The past two years have been incredibly strong when it comes to land. The real estate market is beginning to level off, which is a great thing because we cannot continue with 20% appreciation and rent growth. For us, we haven’t seen scarcity in land deals because we’re great on the acquisitions side. We bought almost 1,000 properties last year and are on pace for another 700 this year. We’re still able to find deals because of our connections and those skills. It’s definitely made things a little more difficult but we’ve still been successful. Jacksonville is the largest city in the country when it comes to the amount of land it has and we have a renewed focus on infill sites – specifically Downtown. Our core business is around single-family development but in the past two years, we have been in a huge push for Downtown. We own about 20 city blocks and are about to embark on a significant amount of urban, mixed-use development with multifamily aspects.
How has the real estate investment community evolved over the past few years?
The interest in real estate was strong and steady prior to COVID, then it disappeared for three months and shot back up. We couldn’t build houses fast enough — we were selling houses we hadn’t started construction on yet, which turned out to be a bad decision because of how high prices climbed. In the past few months due to interest rate and economic volatility, that has pulled back. We needed a slowdown — things are moving from 1,000 miles per hour down to 72 miles per hour.
We are the most affordable large market in Florida and I’m excited to see a calm slowdown. Hopefully we will be on a smoother, more normal trajectory in the next few years.
Outside interest is pulling back on single-family and multifamily. There is a pullback in demand and a sense of caution from investors, which is warranted. It creates opportunity and we’re pushing forward with our strategy. The best thing for the market would be for interest rates to just stay in the same spot consistently rather than the rollercoaster they have been on.
What does talent acquisition look like for your office?
We’ve been doing pretty well. Our time from job posting to hiring is about 40 days. We have a unique interview process, and being named one of the best places to work in the region has helped attract talent. We gave multiple significant raises in the past year, in some cases over 20%. The goal was to increase the quality of life for our team over talent acquisition and retention, although that was a benefit to us. It helped with our culture because when people feel financially supported they’re able to breathe easier, work a little harder and enjoy financial independence.
How are generational financial freedom and expansion of the company being defined this year?
Investing in real estate has become more mainstream, while before, stocks and bonds were the main form of investment. It may be a more generational trend, where younger people are looking more at real estate investing. We have seen increased demand since we started, for sure. The ability to tokenize, securitize or get unaccredited investors is huge. The more we can democratize investing in real estate and transition from exclusive private placements to making it available to everyone, the better the general population will be. Real estate is a great tool for financial freedom and our business will be better because of the increased amount of money flowing in. That’s something we and other companies are working on: making investing in real estate as easy and liquid as investing in a stock. This is a big focus now that I believe will pay off in two to five years.
We’re not planning on expanding geographically in our core business. We plan on staying in Northeast Florida. There are plenty of homes, assets and land to develop. We really appreciate Jacksonville and we believe in helping Jacksonville grow as a city by increasing median incomes, upward mobility, raising property values and increasing investor returns. It can only bring good things for the community and it’s authentic for us because we live, work and play here. We’re interested in Downtown because we want to help Jacksonville grow while remaining a great place to live. Our growth plan is to stay in Jacksonville and be multidisciplinary in our focuses here.
How can technology increase access to homes as an asset class?
There are a lot of companies doing this. Arrived Homes has gotten a lot of press about this specifically. They are basically securitizing houses; anyone can participate by buying a sliver of a home. Between updates in regulation and improvements in technology, it’s now available to the public. I believe this will be a huge area of growth in the next five to 10 years. There are quite a few companies popping up with their own spins on the subject. We will be working with those companies to give them product while creating our own platform, as well. Right now, to invest with us you would need $40,000 or $50,000 because that’s how much you need to put down when buying an entire home. There’s a very small percentage of the population who can do that. How great would it be to throw a couple hundred dollars into a house that has proven significant returns as a way to diversify your portfolio?
How has technology changed your industry lately?
Not much, to be honest. We always try to be at the forefront of what’s next. I believe there will be a tremendous change in real estate and construction, which seem to be the last industries to begin using technology in new ways. That will change through 3D printing and manufacturing and componentizing houses. We built an apartment complex out of shipping containers to be placed in Downtown Jacksonville. We prepared the shipping containers offsite, shipped them to the site, put them in with a crane and clicked them together. We built an 18-unit apartment complex that way, and it can be taken apart and transported just as easily. Overall, we’re investing in what’s next for the industry.
As Jacksonville grows, how do you hope it stays the same and what would you like to see change?
One of the two things that makes Jacksonville so great is our natural environment. We have the largest park system in the country and a tremendous amount of water. There are so many neighborhoods and there’s something for everyone — from the beach, to the urban neighborhoods, entertainment and more. The second factor is our people. The vast majority of our people are so kind. It’s different down here and I would hate to see Jacksonville lose its friendly small-town big-city energy.
What are your priorities for the next year?
We are focused on Downtown development and property planning and will be working on the permitting and construction for multiple significant projects looking ahead. I’ll continue prioritizing turnkey property sales and development. Essentially, we will keep doing what we are good at.
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