Fast 15: Zack Kifer

Springdale native Zack Kifer became interested in the real estate industry while working as a bank teller.

He would meet with brokers and liked their work. He found out about Flake & Kelley commercial real estate company while it was managing bank properties after a merger, and he decided to submit his resume to the firm. He was a junior in college when he started with Flake & Kelley as an intern.

“Just learned it on the go and loved it,” Kifer said. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with a concentration in real estate from the University of Arkansas in 2015.

In 2016, he and Christine Pennington opened a Northwest Arkansas office for Moses Tucker, a Little Rock-based real estate company. Pennington said Kifer’s focus and determination have contributed to his success. “Zack impresses me because through everything he has stayed humble and a genuine person,” she added.

Kifer understands that real estate is a service industry and “always puts our clients first,” said Chris Moses, principal, president and CEO for Newmark Moses Tucker Partners.

Paul Esterer, principal and NWA president, said Kifer’s personality provides professionalism and trust to his clients, and he’s someone “you genuinely enjoy hanging out with.”

In 2018, Moses Tucker merged with Newmark and became Newmark Moses Tucker Partners, an independently-owned affiliate of Newmark real estate company and the second-largest property management firm in the state with about 10 million square feet. In the past two years, the company has doubled in size to about 100 employees.

In his role, Kifer has helped find sites in Northwest Arkansas for several businesses, including Local Lime, Big Orange and Dairy Queen. He’s handled about $10 million in real estate transactions annually.

Kifer attributed his success to the importance of relationships and his knowledge of the market from being raised in Northwest Arkansas. He also is familiar with the region’s business community from working in the family business, The Sod Store. He led a group of investors that acquired the Tontitown business in late 2019. As managing partner, he oversees about five employees. Also in 2019, Kifer invested in a 52-unit apartment complex in Springdale.

Kifer supports Big Brothers Big Sisters, Men Sharpening Men and Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. He enjoys playing golf and deer hunting.