Warehouse Property for Sale

The Perfect Location

One of the most important aspects of looking for warehouse property for sale is finding the perfect location. It is easy to find the perfect size and type of commercial warehouse for sale, but if the location is wrong, your business may struggle.

For example, a large, retail warehouse 50 miles from population centers will find it difficult to attract customers. Conversely, setting up a large distribution center in a city will involve a higher cost to buy or lease, and your delivery trucks will have to navigate tortuous traffic systems or waste hours trapped in traffic.

Discovering the prime location for your commercial property is a matter of compromise, balancing the various factors to find a location that suits you, your employees, and your clients.

Warehouse Transport Network and Access

Access to transport infrastructure is crucial for many businesses, and can have a significant impact on profit margins.

• A mail order or ecommerce company sending products to clients by airmail will benefit from proximity to an airfreight terminal
• A manufacturer exporting large products or bulk orders overseas should be close to a container terminal
• A storage facility relying on trucks needs a good road network without heavy traffic, but it needs to be fairly close to the target market to lower fuel costs

Commercial Buildings and Utilities

For many organizations, utilities such as electricity, water, and telecommunications make up a large proportion of the running costs. Not only must utilities be readily available and reliable, but they should also be cost-effective.

• An industrial or manufacturing commercial warehouse needs cheap, readily available electricity and water supplies. Interruptions because of blackouts or drought restrictions lower production
• A call center or retail center needs high-capacity telecommunications and broadband, with the potential for future upgrades to match increasing demand

Commercial Taxes and Rental Costs

Most areas carry commercial taxes for your warehouse, often based upon the square footage, and these are generally more expensive closer to urban areas. Costs for leasing and buying tend to follow a similar trend, so this important factor that must be weighed against distance.

• An out of town garden center wants to be far enough outside city limits to pay lower taxes and rental, without the risk of losing custom to competitors boasting convenience
• For a large super-warehouse for storage or distribution, even an increase of a few cents per square foot adds a huge extra cost, which is why most such centers tend to be a long way from cities

Customers

For businesses relying upon large numbers of customers visiting the premises, distance is crucial. If you are too far away from a city or isolated from major transport routes, people will simply shop elsewhere.

• To a certain extent, people don’t mind travelling to an out-of-town garden center, DIY warehouse, or kitchen showroom. However, too much inconvenience will see them drift to competitors in more accessible locations
• One of the reasons that people are prepared to travel is saving money. If you can set low prices and market aggressively, you can overcome many distance issues
• If you have a large pool of employees, you need to make sure that they have space to park their vehicles, a factor that is even more important if you expect large numbers of customers

Suppliers and Raw Materials

Proximity to suppliers is important for many businesses, because this will reduce transportation costs and also allow the organization to react quickly to changing demand. In most cases, it is usually more cost effective to be located closer to the raw materials, as they are bulky and incur higher transport costs than finished products.

• A computer manufacturer may wish to locate near component suppliers: the cluster of computer-related businesses in Silicon Valley is a perfect example of this
• A sawmill will need regular deliveries of bulky lumber, so proximity to the supplier slashes costs

Employees

Ideally, you want to be close to a pool of employees, whether unskilled labor for manufacturing, call-centers and retail, or skilled workers for technological and precision work. If you are in an area where unemployment is low, you many struggle to attract staff without paying high wages.

• A call center with hundreds of employees needs to be close to a population center with good transport links. Employees are reluctant to commute long distances
• This is less important for a fully automated distribution warehouse with fully automated systems and low labor requirements

Security, Safety and Zoning

Some areas, quite simply, have more crime than others, whether through theft or vandalism, and you will need to pay for extra security measures in these areas. If you operate a business with a high risk of accidents, explosions, or fires, you should be within range of the emergency services. Finally, many state and federal laws govern exactly what business you can undertake in certain areas, protecting employees, the public, and the environment

• A large call center or busy retail outlet will not be given permission to set up next to an oil refinery or chemical plant
• A storage facility handling dangerous chemicals or biohazards cannot operate near residential areas

Finding a Prime Location for Your Commercial Property for Sale

As you can see, finding the perfect location is a matter of balancing a number of factors, each of which can influence your bottom line. An experienced commercial property for sale realtor understands the importance of positioning and can give advice.

At Woodlands Commercial, we have many years of experience of dealing with businesses seeking warehouse property for sale, and we can help you arrive at a decision.

For a free consultation and advice, please feel free to contact us!

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Picture Credits:

Lac | John Ridley | Mantiswong