What does five decades of commercial real estate experience teach you about market cycles, investment strategy, and staying power? On this episode, we dive deep with Dewitt Smith, a commercial real estate veteran whose career spans from playing football for the Arkansas Razorbacks in the 1960s to developing major commercial properties across the Southeast.
Dewitt shares his remarkable journey from civil engineering student to commercial real estate powerhouse, including his 22-year tenure with Cooper Communities and his current role leading Devereux Management Company. His unique perspective includes buying the same prime property—Village on the Creeks in Rogers—twice in his career, demonstrating his commitment to location-based investing and relationship building.
With experience through multiple economic cycles, Dewitt offers refreshingly practical wisdom about today's market conditions. Having weathered mortgage rates as high as 16.25% in 1980, he reminds us that current rates aren't historically high—we've simply adjusted to an anomalous decade of near-zero interest. His approach to capitalizing deals properly and maintaining reserves has allowed him to thrive through downturns while positioning to seize opportunities when others couldn't.
For Northwest Arkansas investors, Dewitt's insights on our region's continued growth potential are particularly valuable. He identifies the "big five" economic drivers—Walmart, JB Hunt, Tyson, the University of Arkansas, and the medical community—that will sustain NWA's momentum while acknowledging infrastructure challenges that accompany rapid expansion.
Whether you're a seasoned commercial investor or looking to enter this space, Dewitt's journey offers invaluable lessons about patience, market selection, and the importance of relationship-based business. Subscribe now to hear more conversations with the visionaries shaping Northwest Arkansas real estate.