Years before Moody Younger would make a name for himself in Dallas commercial real estate, he gathered up life lessons in a small town less than an hour northeast from Lubbock.
“Growing up on a farm in Floydada, Texas, I got a good feel for dirt and land,” recalled Younger, who now lives in Preston Hollow.
After college, he went to work for Mobil Oil, building service stations and handling the environmental remediation associated with those projects.
“I worked closely with retail developers and quickly realized the income potential in real estate was significantly greater than what I was earning as an engineer,” he said.
To change careers, he enrolled in graduate school at SMU and later joined “Trammell Crow’s industrial group, which turned out to be an absolutely wonderful place to learn the business.”
He co-founded Younger Partners, a full-service commercial real estate firm, with Kathy Permenter in 2012 and added affiliates Younger Partners Investments in 2020 and Apricus Realty Capital in 2021.
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Now that you’ve been a real estate professional for a while, if you could go back in time and give yourself any advice, what would it be?
Real estate demands many different skills, but relationships trump all others. Early in my career, I left Dallas for four years to work in Nashville. While I learned a lot there, I always knew I wanted to live in Dallas. I moved back in ’97 for good, but those four years away delayed the development of some of my most important relationships. As a result, I missed out on fully capitalizing on the market run of the late ’90s.
What’s the best thing about working in real estate?
I love the lifelong relationships you build with people. I also enjoy the entrepreneurial aspects of the business; creativity and energy are rewarded in this field.
What is your outlook on the Dallas market?
The North Texas real estate market is healthy, strong, and resilient; capable of withstanding disruptions that challenge many other U.S. markets. I’m very bullish on all aspects of real estate in the region. While the usual factors such as business climate, cost of living and population growth are almost clichés at this point, they’re still true. But more than anything, it’s the people that impress me the most. I don’t know of another market in the country that’s more welcoming to newcomers and open to new business ideas than North Texas.
Fun fact about you?
We own 78 acres on Lake Ray Roberts where our main crop is hay. I enjoy spending weekends up there working like I did growing up. Whether I am clearing brush, cutting firewood, mowing, or fixing fences, it is all cathartic for me. I can see the results of my efforts, and it reminds me of growing up on the High Southern Plains of the Texas Panhandle.
— Compiled by William Taylor
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