Dr. Cummings’ research interests include real estate development, finance, investment, and brokerage, economic development, environmental sustainability and blockchain applications in real estate. His research has been published in leading journals, including the Journal of Real Estate Research, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Journal of Housing Research, Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, Real Estate Finance, The Appraisal Journal, Applied Economics Letters, Tourism Economics and Sustainability. He has presented his work at national and international academic research conferences, including those sponsored by the American Real Estate Society, the European Real Estate Society and the Financial Management Association. His research and commentary have also been featured numerous television and print media outlets.
Previously, Dr. Cummings served as Professor of Finance and Real Estate, Executive Director of the South Alabama Center for Business Analytics, Real Estate and Economic Development, and Interim Assistant Dean for Financial Affairs at the Mitchell College of Business at the University of South Alabama. He founded the Jaguar Realty Internship Program and the $100,000 Jaguar Realty Endowed Scholarship. He advised student teams to victory in multiple international real estate competitions, winning over $50,000 in prizes. He was awarded the 2016 Mitchell College of Business Professor of the Year Award.
Dr. Cummings is Co-Editor of the Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education and Secretary of the American Real Estate Society. He has over 25 years of leadership experience in governmental, business, professional and academic organizations. He served as Chair of the Alabama Real Estate Commission, Chair of the Mobile Housing Authority, Chair of the Mobile Board of Zoning Adjustment and President of the Mobile Area Association of Realtors. He also served on the Advisory Boards for BBVA Compass Bank (NYSE: BBVA) and The First Bank (NASDAQ: FBMS).
He has completed over 40 consulting projects totaling $1.4 million for business, nonprofit and government clients, including economic impact analyses, development feasibility studies and market evaluations. His professional designations include Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM), Certified Shopping Center Manager (CSM), Accredited Land Consultant (ALC), Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB) and Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS). Certified Distance Education Instructor (CDEI), Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) and Residential Mortgage Lender (RML). He has been a licensed real estate broker in multiple states since 1986.
Dr. Cummings holds a Doctorate in Business Administration in finance, with Honors and University Scholar distinction, from Kennesaw State University. He also earned a Master of Business Administration in management, with Honors, from the University of Mobile, a Graduate Certificate in economic development, with Honors, from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Bachelor of Arts in political science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is a graduate of Leadership Alabama, Leadership Mobile and The Buckley School for Public Speaking. Cummings is a member of the honor fraternities Beta Gamma Sigma, Alpha Sigma Gamma, Phi Kappa Phi and Golden Key International Honor Society.
Cummings lives in Hoover with his wife, Rebecca. In his free time, he enjoys travel, golf and spending time on his farm in southwest Mississippi.
Degrees and Certifications
- Kennesaw State University, DBA in Finance, with Honors, University Scholar
- University of Mobile, MBA in Management, with Honors
- University of Southern Mississippi, Graduate Certificate in Economic Development, with Honors
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, BA in Political Science
Research Interests
Real Estate Development, Finance, and Investment, Economic Development, Environmental Sustainability and Blockchain & Digital Assets
Publications
- Istiak, K., Cummings, J. R., Forrester, R. C., and Adams, M., "Examining the Impact of Vulnerability and the Law of Justice on the IFRS Adoption Decision," Journal of Risk and Financial Management, 17(9), 2024.
- Cummings, J. R., "A 'Dream Team' Approach to Teaching Real Estate Finance and Investment Analysis," Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, 26(1), 2023, 1-16.
- Petrolia, D., Gould, S., Yun, S., Cummings, J. R., and Maples, J., "Do Wind Mitigation Programs Affect Home Sale Values?" Journal of Real Estate Research, 45(2), 2022, 1-23.
- Huang, Y., Cummings, J. R., Spahr, R. W., and Sundermann, M. A., "Public Auction Versus Private Negotiation in Residential Property Sales," Journal of Housing Research, 32(1), 2022, 1-20.
- Cummings, J. R., "Jaguar Realty: A Bridge from Education to Practice for the Next Generation of Real Estate Professionals," Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, 24(1), 2022, 86-92.
- Affuso, E., Cummings, J. R., Beebe, D. A., and Schultze, S., "Endogenous, Regime-Switching Hedonic Estimation of Commercial Waterway Water Quality Impact on Home Values in the Alabama Black Belt," Sustainability, 14, 2022, 11683, 1-17.
- Cummings, J. R., Ramirez, G. G., Sharma, D. S., "The Market for Real Estate Sales Incentives," Real Estate Finance, 38(3), 2021, 192-209.
- Cummings, J. R., Martinez, J. E., and Mills, M. T., "The Increasing Trend in Commercial Real Estate Lending by Community Banks: The Role of Deliberate Risk-Taking, 2001-2017," Journal of Economics and Technology Research, 2(1), 2020, 21-46.
- Dahal, R., Petrolia, D., Grala, R., Gordon, J., Munn, I., and Cummings, J. R., "A Hedonic Pricing Method to Estimate Value of Waterfront in the Gulf of Mexico," Urban Forestry and Urban Greening, 41(1), 2019, 185-194.
- Cummings, J. R., Lahtinen, K. D., and Hunsader, K. J., "Real Estate Pre-License Education: A National Call for Reporting Transparency," Journal of Real Estate Practice and Education, 21(1), 2018, 77-84.
- Cummings, J. R., Ramirez, G. G., Sharma, D. S., and Lahtinen, K. D., "Motivating Capital Investment by Using the Audit Process to Increase Financial Transparency," Asian Journal of Finance and Accounting, 10(1), 2018, 81-114.
- Affuso, E., Cummings, J. R., and Le, H., "Wireless Towers and Home Values: An Alternative Valuation Approach Using a Hedonic Spatial Error Model," Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 56(4), 2018, 653-676.
- Forrester, R. C., Martinez, J. E., and Cummings, J. R., "Funding Constraints at Community Banks: A Pre- and Post-2008 Recession Analysis of the Role of Federal Home Loan Bank Advances," Southern Business and Economic Journal, 40(1), 2017, 1-15.
- Affuso, E., Cummings, J. R., and Le, H., "The External Cost of Asbestos in the Housing Market," Applied Economics Letters, 25(6), 2017, 397-400.
- Cummings, J. R., and Epley, D. R., "Better Tourism Market Analysis by Including Import Gap Analysis," Tourism Economics, 21(3), 2015, 871-879.
- Cummings, J. R., "Residential Real Estate Realities after the Financial Crisis: Examining the Effectiveness of Seller-Paid Incentives to Buyers and Agents," Southern Business and Economic Journal, 38(1), 2015, 1-29.
- Cummings, J. R., and Epley, D. R., "Total Requirements View of a Tourism and Hospitality Market is More Accurate than Traditional Location Quotients," Tourism Economics, 20(3), 2014, 1-20.
- Cummings, J. R., and Epley, D. R., "A National Employment Profile of the Real Estate Industry and the Appraisal Profession," The Appraisal Journal, 81(1), 2013, 129-142.
- Cummings, J. R., and Epley, D. R., "A Solution to Fulfil the Underwriter's Constant Need for Accurate Valuations: A True Sales Price," Real Estate Finance, 29(3), 2012, 12-20.