I've gone through my entire library of industrial real estate related books and in this video
I'm going to share with you which ones are my favorite. I also have two extra books I'll
recommend at the end, one is if you're focusing on industrial real estate from an investment
perspective, and the other if you're focus is from a brokerage or advisory standpoint.
You'll discover two things as I go through this video:
1. There isn't a single book that will teach you everything you know. Instead there are
a series of different books which will each offer you unique insight;
2. I am a full on industrial real estate nerd. It might even border on being an unhealthy
obsession.
I've read a number of other books that I haven't included in this list. If there's industrial
in the title, I've probably read it. But instead of covering every book, my intent with this
video is to highlight the ones I think you'll really get some value from.
So roll the quick intro!
The one I'm going to start with is a book that I think everyone in industrial real estate
should have on their bookshelf. It's called Infrastructure, a guide to the industrial
landscape. It's not specifically about industrial buildings, but instead all the infrastructure
that connects the dots between industrial real estate and our every day life. There
are detailed explanations about rail networks, oil and gas, roads and bridges, all with full
colour illustrations throughout.
Along the lines of having some historical context about industrial real estate, that's
where these next three books come in.
The first is all about the industrial revolution. The author goes into remarkable detail how
industrialization swept across Europe and North America and the lasting impact it's
had on society as a whole. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in history in general
actually.
Next is Industrial Heritage Re-tooled, which is available from the international committee
for the conservation of the industrial heritage. As you can appreciate, there are a lot of
areas in the world that no longer require all the older industrial properties, so this
book addresses adaptive reuse and how we can still converge this rich industrial heritage
that really shaped cities as we know them today.
Continuing on with that theme is Industry, architecture and engineering, which does a
historical analysis of industrial architecture and civil engineering in the US. This is fascinating
book which addresses the vast industrial heritage of the US. It makes a killer coffee table
book too!
Let's move into some more modern topics.
And I'll start with the most modern of them all, Industrial Intelligence. This book was
just released by Justin Smith, a tenant rep broker in California. Not only does he have
an MBA and a Masters in Real Estate Development, he's completed over 5 million square feet
worth of transactions. This book is written through the lens of a company looking to lease
industrial real estate, so it doesn't tell the whole story, but if you only wanted to
read a single book this would be a great place to start. I enjoyed this book so much that
I reached out to Justin and actually did an interview with him. Once it's ready I'll post
the link to the video in the description as well.
The next few books are all geared around warehousing, logistics and supply chain management.
First is the Way to go, by Kate Ascher. I have a couple of her other books as well,
and I'm a big fan of her work. As you can tell by the cover, this book explains how
things move by sea, land and air. There's a term called intermodal transportation, which
essentially is when two or more modes are involved in moving a good from one location
to another. An example is a product that goes from China to the middle of the US. In this
case it likely by boat, than by train, than by truck. This book gives you a solid overview
of how the whole system is interconnected.
This leads into Door to Door, by Pulitzer prize winning journalist Edward Humes. This
certainly isn't a book written specifically for the industry, but instead is a non-biased
overview on just how complex transportation really is. This is a very well written book.
Closely related to it is Ninety Percent of Everything by Rose George. This book is written
from the author's perspective as she physically documents her travels aboard a cargo ship.
Again it's not directly related to industrial real estate, but it is a fascinating first
hand story about how things get from A to B.
The last one pertaining to warehouses is Warehouse Management. I almost didn't include this one
as it's more geared towards operating a warehouse from a company's perspective, but I've included
it because there are a few sections are very applicable to the building itself, and I also
think having a solid understanding of what the end user needs from the space can also
be very beneficial.
If you want to do a deeper dive, I have a few textbooks to also recommend.
I've read a handful of books on construction but this is by far the best one. It's very
thorough and goes into all types of construction and it certainly goes well beyond the scope
of what I needed it for, but the parts where you'll get some value are in regards to the
full construction process, such as zoning, working with designers and architects, as
well as great explanations into the various components of a building.
Next is Real Estate Finance and Investments by Peter Linneman. There is a full course
you can take from REFM based on this texbook, but if you're just looking for information
on analyzing a property from a financial perspective, this book does a fantastic job of explaining
discounted cash flow analysis, net present value and internal rate of return.
The last textbook is Professional Real Estate Development from the Urban Land Institute.
Even if you're not pursuing developments, having a solid understanding of the process
will help you out tremendously. There is some overlap with the first two textbooks I've
mentioned as well, but these three textbooks could easily form the foundation for a solid
real estate education.
One more textbook of sorts, which has long been out of print, is appropriately titled
Industrial Real Estate. This is a second edition that I tracked down a couple years ago and
it was put out by the Society of Industrial Realtors. That organization is now called
SIOR, the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, and I'm proud to have been a member
since 2017. This books reads exactly like you would expect a textbook from 1970 to read.
It's very dry, but it's also densely packed with a lot of information that is still relevant
today. You're going to have to track one down from a private seller if you're interested,
and truthfully at the price you'll have to pay you'll get more value from the other books
I've mentioned. If anyone from SIOR is watching this, it's time to do an update to this book.
I'd love to be involved if you need help.
Just before I get to the last two recommendations, on the note that some of the links below will
take you to Amazon, and if you order from there Amazon will pay me a small fee. I will
be donating 100% of any amount I make to the SIOR Foundation, which is the arm of SIOR
dedicated to education and development of the next generation of commercial real estate
professionals. The foundation supports students in university programs, emerging commercial
real estate professionals and current professionals looking to increase their knowledge.
I'm hoping we can make a decent donation to the foundation, and to increase the contribution,
I'll double whatever amount is raised through the affiliate program.
It doesn't cost you any extra if you order using the links below and you'll be helping
to support the future leaders of our industry.
But as promised, here are two additional books that I can enthusiastically recommend.
If you're a broker, or planning on becoming a broker, check out To be or not to be intimidated
by Robert Ringer. It was written a long time ago but it's a tale of how Robert flew in
his private jet all over the country working on deals.
If you're planning on investing in industrial real estate, check out Confessions of a Real
Estate Entrepreneur by James Randal. This was recommended to me by Raphael Collazo,
who coincidentally has a book coming out soon as well called Before You Sign That Lease.
I ordered a copy of Raphael's book and I'm sure it's a great book based off what I know
of Raphael. Back to Randall's book, I actually did the audio version of it. Randall is lawyer
by training but has invested in a considerable amount of deals over the years and his book
is part story telling part investment theory. I really enjoyed reading - or listening to
it.
So that's my list! If there are any great books you've read on industrial real estate
that I didn't mention, please leave a comment below as well.
And if this video helped at all, please hit that like button, it would mean a lot to me.
Thanks for watching catch you in the next video!