Page 22 - RE-NJ

20 OCTOBER 2024
OWNERS COUNCIL Q&A
JACK MORRIS
PRESIDENT AND CEO
EDGEWOOD PROPERTIES
How do you feel about the
market?
I’ll always be bullish on New
Jersey. As with any market, we
may need to endure some ups and
downs, but our state’s fundamen-
tals give us a high fl oor and a very
high ceiling. Qualities like access
to New York City, a highly trained
workforce, great medical facilities
and care, an array of recreational
assets and municipalities that are
att ractive to families give New
Jersey long-term appeal. Also, citi-
zens value safety and security, and
I want to give kudos to the incredi-
ble law enforcement professionals
who serve our communities in
New Jersey each and every day.
Did you learn anything new
about your business (or the
industry) in 2024?
The importance of technology in
the real estate industry cannot be
overstated. Having the right tech-
nology partners and the right peo-
ple in your organization to work
with those partners is paramount.
One of the things I’ve learned
this year is that, with more and
more AI-based tools entering the
market, it is, in fact, more import-
ant than ever to have the right
technology stack in place so that
you can fully take advantage of
what’s next. Obviously, technology
moves at a rapid pace, but artifi cial
intelligence is going to put it into
overdrive.
How quickly (or slowly) do you
expect the lending environment
to improve as expected rate
cuts take hold?
An improved lending environment
will clearly follow when the Fed
cuts rates as they are expected to
do. Let’s be clear, though — in-
fl ation is a fact of life for most
products and services (except for
commodities which see a lot more
price volatility). For that reason, it
is imperative that we improve the
quality of life for our citizens by
impacting one of the largest cost
items for most individuals and
families — housing. Besides lower
interest rates, another big way to
improve access to housing is for
the state to lessen the regulatory
burden and work with developers
on fi nancial and other tools to help
build much needed housing supply.
Besides the capital markets,
what is a major challenge that
the industry still faces?
Infl ation and rising costs like in-
surance and property taxes have a
signifi cant impact on our business
on multiple fronts. Not only does
this combination make develop-
ment hard to pencil. It diminishes
the ability of our multifamily res-
idents to pay rent if real incomes
are not rising in excess of infl ation
and it removes some percentage of
the population from the Class A
luxury market. On the commer-
cial side, these expenses aff ect the
profi tability of our retail tenants,
and it limits the capacity of both
new and established businesses to
open new locations. Similarly, we
always have our eye on job growth.
Our business requires a strong
labor market in order to thrive.
What can the state or federal
government do to help?
Aside from the Fed bringing down
interest rates while maintaining
low infl ation and low unemploy-
ment, government should be
focused on opportunities to ensure
a well-educated workforce, world-
class health care and well-main-
tained infrastructure. Additionally,
the state government, in particu-
lar, should always strive to make
New Jersey easy to do business in.
Maintaining and att racting profi t-
able businesses will create overall
improvement in the state’s econo-
my. There needs to be a singular
focus by state leadership on reduc-
ing the regulations and taxes that
impede growth. My recommenda-
tion is that the state should form a
development council populated by
civic-minded business leaders —
not politicians — who can provide
common sense ideas on how to
make New Jersey a great place to
do business.
Where do you see opportunity
outside the Garden State?
States like Florida and other
Southeast locations off er tremen-
dous opportunity. Obviously, the
Sunshine State, in particular, saw
a huge surge during the pandemic.
These areas are notable for being
business-friendly and growth-ori-
ented and for working hard to
keep their citizens safe and secure.
Also, those who are looking to
retire seek areas with low taxes
because otherwise it becomes
unaff ordable on fi xed incomes.
Additionally, more and more of
these states are att ractive to young
professionals and families because
they have well-paying jobs, good
schools and a great climate. We
have several mixed-use projects
down in the Southeast that I’m
particularly excited about.
How is technology helping your
business these days?
We are leveraging technology
to gain a bett er and bett er un-
derstanding of our business. It’s
important for us to understand not
only where we stand today, but
to get out ahead of any potential
pitfalls in the months and years
ahead. Technology is enabling us
to do that. We are also focused on
using technology to share data
insights across our company. It’s
one thing for the C-suite to have
detailed reporting on any given
metric, but data becomes power-
ful when the people who run our
business on a day-to-day basis can
act on it.
Getting To Know You
FAVORITE JERSEY DINER
Skylark Diner, Edison
YOUR NEWEST HOBBY OR INTEREST
Wine making
FAVORITE DAY TRIP OR VACATION SPOT
Anywhere on or near the water
TV SHOW, MOVIE OR BOOK YOU’D RECOMMEND
Stories about the underdog overcoming obstacles, like ‘Rudy’
IF I WEREN’T IN COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, I’D BE…
Continuing what I love to do the most and that’s giving back to
the community in my role as chairman of the Board of Directors
at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.