Service
Investment Sales.
Acquisitions and dispositions of industrial assets.
Overview
What it covers.
Industrial investment sales handles the buy-side and sell-side transactions for industrial real estate — stabilized assets, value-add opportunities, and owner-user purchases. Metro Vancouver industrial remains one of the most defensible asset classes in the cycle, with structural supply constraints, strong rent growth, and broad institutional and private capital appetite. The market rewards sellers who time disposition correctly and buyers who underwrite operational fundamentals with precision.
The Process
Step-by-step execution.
01.
Underwriting & Positioning
Asset underwriting including in-place rent vs. market, lease expiry profile, capex requirements, and exit scenarios. Positioning strategy specific to the buyer pool for this asset profile.
02.
Marketing Strategy
Production of marketing package (OM, financial models, comparable analysis) and identification of target buyer types — institutional, private, owner-user, or 1031-equivalent buyers.
03.
Confidential & Open Marketing
Strategic exposure — confidential off-market for select assets, broad institutional marketing for institutional-grade product. Both buyer pools managed actively.
04.
Tour & Due Diligence Coordination
Tour scheduling, data room management, buyer qualification, and offer solicitation. Maintain competitive tension throughout the process.
05.
Offer Negotiation
Price, deposit structure, due diligence period, financing contingencies, closing date, and post-closing transition all negotiated together. Best-and-final processes managed where multiple bidders are active.
06.
Closing Coordination
Coordination through due diligence (environmental, structural, zoning, title), financing, and closing with legal counsel and accounting support.
Who This Is For
The right fit.
- Private and institutional industrial owners considering disposition
- Buyers seeking stabilized or value-add industrial acquisitions
- Owner-users transitioning from leasing to ownership
- 1031-equivalent reinvestment buyers (Canadian capital gains structuring)
- Developers acquiring land for industrial development
What You Get
The deliverable.
- Asset underwriting and positioning
- Marketing package and financial models
- Confidential off-market and open buyer outreach
- Tour and due diligence coordination
- Offer negotiation and competitive tension management
- Closing coordination with legal, financing, and DD partners
When to Engage
Timing.
For sellers, engage 6 to 18 months ahead of intended disposition. Pre-marketing and quiet outreach to known buyers often delivers stronger economics than broad open marketing. For buyers, engagement should be ongoing — the strongest opportunities surface through continuous market presence and broker relationships, not transactional searches.
Why Me
The fit.
Industrial-only focus combined with NAI Commercial Vancouver's transaction history and NAI Global's institutional capital network provides full coverage of the buyer pool — local, national, and international. The right buyer for your asset may be a Metro Vancouver private investor, a Canadian REIT, a US-based institutional fund, or a global pension capital allocator. Comprehensive coverage produces competitive tension and optimal economics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Investment Sales, answered.
What's the right time to sell an industrial property in Metro Vancouver?
Timing should account for your hold strategy, the in-place vs. market rent gap, lease expiry profile, capex outlook, and broader market conditions. Disposition into a stabilized cash flow with limited near-term capex generally trades at the strongest cap rate. Value-add opportunities trade at wider cap rates with broader buyer pools.
How are industrial cap rates trending in Metro Vancouver?
Metro Vancouver industrial cap rates have tightened materially over the past decade, supported by strong rent growth, low vacancy, and broad institutional capital demand. Current cap rates vary by submarket, asset quality, and tenancy structure. Current snapshots are best obtained through a brief market briefing — published data lags actual transactions.
What should I expect for due diligence on an industrial acquisition?
Due diligence typically covers environmental (Phase I, sometimes Phase II), structural and building systems condition, zoning and municipal compliance, title and survey, lease document review, tenant covenant analysis, and financial verification. Specialty assets require additional DD specific to the asset class (refrigeration audits for cold storage, crane and process infrastructure for manufacturing, etc.). 30 to 60 days is common.
Can I do a 1031-equivalent exchange in Canada?
Canada does not have a direct equivalent to the US 1031 exchange. However, several structuring options can defer or reduce capital gains tax on industrial dispositions — replacement property rules, certain corporate reorganizations, and specific exemptions. These structures require accounting and tax counsel involvement early in the disposition planning. We coordinate closely with your tax advisors.