(Editor’s note: This story appeared in our October 2024 issue.)
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 fundamentals give us a high floor 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 attractive to families give New Jersey long-term appeal. Also, citizens value safety and security, and I want to give kudos to the incredible 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 technology partners and the right people 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 important 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 artificial 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 — inflation 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 financial and other tools to help build much needed housing supply.
Besides the capital markets, what is a major challenge that the industry still faces?
Inflation and rising costs like insurance and property taxes have a significant impact on our business on multiple fronts. Not only does this combination make development hard to pencil. It diminishes the ability of our multifamily residents to pay rent if real incomes are not rising in excess of inflation and it removes some percentage of the population from the Class A luxury market. On the commercial side, these expenses affect the profitability 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 inflation and low unemployment, government should be focused on opportunities to ensure a well-educated workforce, world-class health care and well-maintained infrastructure. Additionally, the state government, in particular, should always strive to make New Jersey easy to do business in. Maintaining and attracting profitable businesses will create overall improvement in the state’s economy. There needs to be a singular focus by state leadership on reducing the regulations and taxes that impede growth. My recommendation 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 offer tremendous opportunity. Obviously, the Sunshine State, in particular, saw a huge surge during the pandemic. These areas are notable for being business-friendly and growth-oriented 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 unaffordable on fixed incomes. Additionally, more and more of these states are attractive 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 better and better understanding 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 powerful 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.
