By: Cori Smelker
When Big Business like H.E.B., Wal-Greens, Cinemark Theater, AutoZone, Whataburger and Marriott Hotels want to move into Rio Grande Valley and need to find the right location and space, who do they turn to? Davis Equity Realty founded and owned by Dale Davis a Weslaco native.
As a previous Director of Development for Cinemark USA and Cinemark International, it was an easy decision for Davis to found Davis Equity Realty. He knew what businesses look for and need when seeking to develop or expand. As a result Davis Equity Realty provides businesses with full services, from Feasibility Studies Entitlements, market research, project management, property management and Development Entitlements to owner/tenant representation.
Today Randy Summers is the local man representing Davis Equity Realty as Dale moved to the greater San Antonio area to expand the company’s interests north of the valley. Summers, a fourth generation Weslaco native, is perfect for the position precisely because he is a native. Who better to scout out possible locations and who knows traffic patterns better than someone born and raised in the area. Not only does Summers have the local knowledge needed to help commercial clients, he has the business acumen too. Fifteen years as a commercial banker stand him in good stead when it comes to working with Davis’ clients.
Fascination with real estate is what drives the team at Davis Equity Realty. Summers took real estate classes while he was still a banker. He could see the advantage it gave him when dealing with his commercial clients. He took so many classes he realized one day that he was one class away from becoming a certified Real Estate Agent, so took that class.
Dale approached Summers while he was still at the bank asking him to join the team at Davis Realty. Initially Summers laughed it off. “I liked my banking hours, and my steady pay check,” Summers confessed. However, after talking it over with his wife, Summers went back to Davis and agreed to come on board as the Sales Manager for Commercial Sales and Retail. “It was a drastic change,” he said as he chuckled. “No more 9-5 Monday through Friday. This was hard work!” He estimates that in the early months he put in 80 or more hours per week. “But honestly, I think I still put in that many hours, but because it is such a part of who I am, I don’t even notice.” He loved the flexibility the career change gave him too. “So I might work 80 hours, but when I first started out our kids were younger. I could leave to watch them play ball, or attend their concerts. I just worked after they went to bed.”
He acknowledged that he entered real estate at a good time, in the late 90s when many businesses were expanding. That helped him weather the recession that the USA faced in 2008. “Things are looking up again now,” Summers said. One advantage to being in the valley, Summers explained, is that many Mexican Nationals are choosing to relocate their families in the region; and they have been a boon to business lately.
Summers is also quick to credit the entire Commercial Real Estate team, Keith Kinsolving and Gary Clemons have contributed to the continued success of Davis Equity Realty. “We have a great team spirit,” he explained. “All of us are intent on serving the client. In fact one of our taglines is, ‘We Are Service Focused, Not Commission Focused’ and it really shows because we do go above and beyond our clients’ expectations.”
Any group of people that work together will form associations and relationships; but Davis Equity Realty is filled with people who have known each other for years. David McDaniel, who handles Property Management, went to school with Dale Daivs; C.J. Trevino, one of the youngest members of the team, lived across the road from Dale; and even Summers and Dale attended the same high school, a couple of years apart from each other. “There’s a lot of history here,” Summers said. That ‘history’ has built trust and that trust is passed onto the client. When a developer or commercial client enters into an agreement with Davis Equity Realty they know they can trust the company to represent their interests and to get the job done.
With so much experience under their belt, is it any wonder that Davis Equity Realty is the number one choice for commercial real estate?
2290 W. Pike Blvd. Suite 100
Weslaco, Texas 78596
TELEPHONE: 956-969-8648
PROJECT INFO LINE: 800-713-7452
