Carl W. Pankratz III is the CEO and Founder of Blackacre Commercial, a commercial mortgage brokerage that arranges financing for commercial real estate projects across Texas. He is also the founder of Pankratz Title, a title company focused on commercial real estate transactions. Over the course of his career, Pankratz has been involved in more than $1 billion in real estate transactions and has worked across various areas of the industry, including debt and equity sourcing, legal advisory, municipal policy, title and escrow, and investment.
His professional background includes experience as an commercial mortgage broker, attorney, escrow officer, business consultant, and elected official. He previously served on the Rowlett City Council for two terms, including one as Deputy Mayor Pro Tem. In 2022, he was appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott to the statewide Land Bank Task Force, which was tasked with evaluating land bank strategies across Texas.
Pankratz frequently speaks on topics such as multifamily finance, manufactured housing, municipal economic development, and industry leadership. His writing has been published in Lexis-Nexis, GlobeSt.com, Texas Real Estate Business, The Texas Land Title Association Journal, and The Journal for Manufactured Housing.
His public and professional service includes roles on several committees and boards. He serves on the Executive Committee of the Apartment Association of Greater Dallas, the State Bar of Texas Real Estate Forms Committee, and was elected Vice Chair of the National Multifamily Housing Council’s Emerging Leaders Committee. He also founded and served as Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s North Texas Center for Leadership, and has been a member of the Executive Committee for the “43 Club” at the George W. Bush Presidential Center.
Pankratz has received recognition for both professional and civic contributions. These include 40 Under 40 honors from the Dallas Business Journal, the Five Outstanding Young Dallasites award from the Dallas Junior Chamber of Commerce, and a resolution from the Texas House of Representatives recognizing his work in Rowlett.
He is a magna cum laude graduate of Southern Methodist University, where he also played football, and earned his Juris Doctor from SMU’s Dedman School of Law.
