By Joe Louis Gomez
Photos By Leonel Munoz
A small group of highly trained professionals are trailblazers in a sophisticated type of commercial business that makes Davis Equity Realty one of the most experienced real estate professional companies in South Texas, according to the firm’s founders.
Brandishing decades of collective knowledge in acquisitions, and lease transactions is essential for a company built on a value system that employees follow in their personal lives. It amounts to moral integrity, and serving people with heart, according to Davis Equity president Dale Davis.
As a service business, it amounts to a dedicated team of professionals who serve people beyond their business expectations. The core values ensure the firm goes beyond just what it takes to get a deal done, Davis said.
“We have set up an environment up here that enables all of our associates to work in a very entrepreneurial effort, and we encourage them to get the knowledge, education and skill it takes to handle a more sophisticated clientele,” Davis said. The firm is a fourth-generation company specializing in commercial real estate development and real estate brokerage services that began when Davis’ great grandfather began doing real estate in Harlingen.
Davis is a Weslaco native, and graduate of the University of Texas, who spent 17 years in the Dallas commercial real estate market, where his early work on complex and sophisticated projects jumpstarted his personal development career. During his Dallas tenure, he started Davis Equity Realty in 1984, and served as the director of development for Cinemark Theaters, developing entertainment complexes throughout the USA, South America and Mexico. The start of Davis Equity Realty in the RGV in 1995 was to provide a natural extension of the transactional knowledge he had acquired from years in the business and provide development projects in South Texas, he said.
Also rounding out the team is Randy Summers, a Weslaco native and the firm’s commercial sales manager since 1997. Having long term family ties to the Davis family, Summers joined Davis Equity Realty from the banking industry in the Rio Grande Valley.
David McDaniel is Davis property manager of the Davis company’s commercial assets. As a former American Express financial advisor and food manufacturing company business manager; McDaniel’s skills have proven beneficial to asset management in the arena of investment property management.
Keith Kinsolving is the company’s land acquisition guru. The McAllen native draws upon extensive experience in home building stemming from his former tenure as president of Kinsolving Construction Company in Austin in the 1980s. Gary Clemons, who is also in sales and leasing, draws upon his experience in the family gas supply business. The Clemon’s family owned multiple convenience stores in the region. CJ Trevino is a Davis Equity Realty leasing specialist, a grad of Texas A&M School of Real Estate and has been with the company for four years. Blake Harrington joined the Boerne, Texas office of Davis Equity as a leasing associate and is the development coordinator for San Antonio area projects. Harrington obtained his degree in real estate development from the University of Texas in San Antonio.
“Our focus in serving people is to provide a service beyond their expectations. We have so much knowledge on how to negotiate for clients to meet appropriate market rates. We have extensive market knowledge of leasing rates and what values are. When people hire us to assist them, we bring that knowledge into the transaction,” Davis said. “We are capable of assisting our clients in multiplying their business revenues and locations.”
Most of the clients that come to Davis Equity Realty are looking for professional assistance with either acquiring commercial properties for their business or to lease space, according to sales manager Randy Summers. Clients often need professional representation to negotiate the best location and best lease parameters that they can get to grow their business.
This factor underscores commercial real estate’s significance as a barometer for economic activity in the region, Summers said.
Commercial real estate is a reflection or a response to a positive economy. The truth about the Valley economy is that it’s always improving. Job growth in particular is positive. Positive job growth means positive spending, which results in economic growth. That’s where the Valley is today, according to Summers.
“We have a variety of economic centers around the Valley and south Texas where you see shopping centers and office buildings that are there because they are responding to demand. They are providing a supply of services and retail goods that respond to job growth and a healthy economy. It’s a very significant barometer of what the economy is doing,” Summers said.
The Rio Grande Valley is affected by Mexico and other international factors. The Valley is uniquely situated because it has a productive coast for shipping, and the border area specializes in international trade, according to Davis. The region has an abundance of fertile crops for agriculture growth, and well developed transportation corridors. All of these factors come together to create an interesting group of ingredients that cause job growth, he said.
“It’s a multi-faceted economy. It’s a diverse economy. It has grown into that from an ag economy. So, our balanced economy reflects manufacturing, distribution, services, agriculture, all of those fit together to make a very interesting economy,” Davis said.
