Carlock Joins PwC as U.S. Real Estate Practice Leader

By Suzann D. Silverman, Editorial Director

PricewaterhouseCoopers has hired Byron Carlock as the newest member of its real estate team. Carlock’s move follows 11 years with CNL Financial Group, most recently as president & CEO of CNL Lifestyle Properties, a non-listed REIT whose growing portfolio included entertainment and hospitality properties and under his guidance expanded into seniors housing as well. He left CNL last fall and shortly thereafter began talking with PwC about the new move.

Carlock brings a mix of real estate skills to the consulting firm, having spent four years as chief investment officer & executive vice president of public apartment REIT Post Properties, part of the team that worked to expand its urban infill network nationwide, and before that many years with Crow Holdings International, the investment arm for the Crow family in Texas. As managing director of capital markets for Crow Holdings, he directed debt, equity and recapitalization efforts as well as sitting on the investment committee.

The new position, U.S. real estate practice leader, is also new for PwC, one of three designed to coordinate the three areas of the firm’s business—tax, audit and advisory—for clients around the world and to help ease the flow of international funds into real estate. Carlock reports to Barry Benjamin in the national financial services practice. The other positions oversee the European and Asian markets; Kees Hage was already serving in this role for the European market, while the third role is still to be filled.

I think real estate is the new gold, observed Carlock, noting investors’ increased interest in real estate as the capital markets improve. I think we’re entering a new era of optimism for this industry. While multi-family has been everybody’s darling for some time now, he pointed to a growing interest in industrial property as an investment target, and indeed investment across all the core asset classes in the top 10 U.S. cities and in some cases in the top 20, especially those with an economic base in energy or technology, according to Emerging Trends research. Distressed debt continues to offer an opportunity, though foreclosures have waned recently and special servicers have been offering the property at less of a discount.