NAI PSP Represents Walter E. Nelson in Industrial Owner-User Dual Transaction

The Situation

Walter E. Nelson had a dilemma; they had quickly outgrown their existing warehouse and wanted to expand into a larger facility. Complicating matters more was their strong desire to continue to own their real estate in the region. In early 2023, they contacted Jeff Forsberg, Bret Matysik and Arie Salomon of NAI Puget Sound Properties to help them solve their problems.

This provided a unique opportunity for the team, as a “dual transaction by an owner user is not particularly common” in the market, Bret said, “Most Class A buildings like the one we sold are owned by institutional investors.” Combined with the client’s particular needs for the new space he would be buying and the high desired price point for his existing property, it would take everyone’s expertise to complete both sides of this transaction successfully. With over 65-years of experience combined, the Southend Industrial Team was the perfect fit for the client.

Our Solution

In order to achieve the best possible outcome for their client, the team devised a thorough plan before listing the property, and conducted regular meetings to keep up with goals and address issues as they arose. On the sale side of the transaction, an aggressive marketing strategy and hundreds of cold calls led to the identification of four potential buyer groups to bid on the property, which helped drive the final sale price up to over $300 per square foot – a high-water mark for the size and quality of the building. Bret noted the unique circumstance of the buyer that helped them achieve this:

“The buyer was a foreign company (H-Mart) that had wanted to purchase a building for a long time in our market. These opportunities were few and far between over the past five years or so … With the aid of a bidding war, we were able to convince them to pay our seller’s price.”

For the buy side, Jeff and Bret made over 150 cold calls on prospective properties, ultimately identifying around ten that suited Walter E. Nelson Co.’s needs. The team then helped the client close on his property of choice, for a price of $200 per square foot. Due to the quick turnaround time between the sale and the purchase, the client also qualified for a 1031 Tax Deferred Exchange, reducing a portion of the immediate financial need upon expansion into the new property.

“We rely on one another's market knowledge and personal expertise to elevate everyone on the team. In this case, the transaction required a combination of Experience, Foresight, In-Depth Market Knowledge and Good Old Fashioned hard work. By combining all of our strengths, we were able to deliver with these attributes and others to exceed our client's expectations.”