Whenever an industrial property sells, one of the first questions I usually get from nearby owners is what that sale means for their property. A recent sale can definitely give us useful information, but I do not think it is as simple as taking the price per square foot and applying it to every building nearby. Every industrial property is different, and those differences can have a pretty big impact on value. The important part is figuring out why the property sold for what it did.
The first thing I look at is how similar the sale actually is to the property I am comparing it to. Building size, lot size, location, age, condition, clear height, power, roll-up doors, yard space, and access can all change the value. I also want to know whether the property was occupied or vacant and whether it was purchased by an investor or an owner-user. A sale that looks like a perfect comparable at first can become a lot less comparable once you start digging into the details.
I also pay attention to how the property was sold. Was it fully marketed or was it an off-market transaction between two parties that already knew each other? How long was it on the market? Were there multiple buyers interested in it? Those are important questions because a sale does not always represent exactly what another owner could receive if their property went to the open market.
For owners, I think recent sales are most useful when you look at several of them together. One high sale does not automatically mean every property around it suddenly increased in value, just like one low sale does not necessarily mean the market is falling. I would rather look at a group of transactions and find the pattern between them. That gives you a much better idea of where buyers are actually putting their money and what features they are willing to pay more for.
If you own an industrial property, it is worth paying attention when something nearby sells. Even if you have no plans to sell, the transaction can still tell you something about how buyers are looking at your area and where your property may fit into the market. If you see an industrial property sell near you and are wondering what it could mean for your building, reach out and I would be happy to take a look at it.
https://www.washoecounty.gov/assessor/cama/index.php
https://spanvor.com/blog/five-signs-industrial-owner-ready-to-sell
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