Prescott IOS vs Burgess Properties: Choosing an Industrial Broker in Boston’s Northern Suburbs
Goals for This Article
In this Prescott IOS vs. series, we are doing our best to give an actual, realistic, accurate comparison of Prescott IOS and other commercial real estate brokerage firms.
Each comparison we write has the following aims:
- Honoring: We seek to write in a way that honors our competitors in each area of comparison.
- Generous: We aim to be generous in sharing compliments about our competition, even recommending a competitor whenever we believe their products and services are a better fit for the client than Prescott IOS’s products and services.
- Accurate: Each competitor should agree with every fact and description stated in our analysis, though they may disagree with some conclusions. That is for the reader to decide.
If your property is zoned for Industrial Outdoor Storage (IOS), Prescott IOS is built specifically for that assignment. If your property is 10,000 to 80,000 square feet of office or flex industrial space in Boston’s northern urban suburbs, Burgess Properties is the broker to call. This page lays out where the two firms overlap, where each one is genuinely the better fit, and how to decide.
Overview of Burgess Properties
Burgess Properties is a boutique regional brokerage based in Boston’s northern urban suburbs, with offices in Charlestown and Malden. It’s a small, senior team, and the firm makes a point of promising that clients work directly with senior brokers throughout an assignment rather than being handed off to junior staff after signing on. Burgess Properties is also a fellow SIOR affiliate firm, and the Boston Business Journal has regularly ranked it among Boston’s top 20 commercial brokerages by total square footage leased or sold.
Where Prescott IOS and Burgess Properties Overlap
Burgess Properties will occasionally list an IOS property for sale or lease, or represent an IOS tenant, when the assignment fits within their focus on Boston’s northern urban suburbs. They’ll also represent small, medium, and large companies in a tenant search for office and industrial property more broadly. What keeps them from being an IOS focused firm is a combination of their local geographic focus and their asset class generalism. Industrial is one part of a broader office and industrial practice rather than a dedicated specialty. Prescott IOS, by contrast, has an exclusive focus on the IOS asset class and represents qualified IOS users no matter where they are in New England.
When Burgess Properties Is the Better Choice
Burgess Properties is a strong referral partner for Prescott IOS. Any industrial or office lease or sale listing in Boston’s urban or northern urban suburbs without an IOS feature is a property Burgess Properties should list, and Prescott IOS will happily refer projects like this to Burgess.
Office and Flex Industrial Leasing and Sales in the Northern Urban Suburbs
Burgess Properties is strongest in the 10,000 to 80,000 square foot range for office and flex industrial property in Boston’s northern urban suburbs. Their small, senior team means clients work directly with experienced brokers throughout the assignment, and their standing as a top 20 Boston brokerage by square footage leased or sold reflects real depth in that market.
When Prescott IOS Is the Better Choice
IOS Landlord Representation
Prescott IOS will be a better fit than Burgess Properties for landlords with an IOS property. Burgess Properties’ focus is geographic first, the northern urban suburbs, and asset class second, office and industrial broadly, rather than IOS specifically. Prescott IOS monitors the regional and national movement of IOS tenants, which gives landlords outside Burgess Properties’ core footprint, or landlords who want exposure to that broader movement, a real advantage.
IOS Seller Representation
The same reasoning applies to a sale. Prescott IOS’s regional and national view of active IOS buyers reaches well past Boston’s northern urban suburbs, which matters when the goal is finding the buyer willing to pay the most for an IOS property, wherever that buyer happens to be.
IOS Tenant Representation
Prescott IOS’s exclusive focus on the IOS asset class gives us visibility into properties that aren’t formally on the market but would be available for the right tenant. Burgess Properties represents tenants across office and industrial property broadly, which is valuable in its own right, but it isn’t the same as a search built specifically around finding off-market IOS opportunities.
What We See When We Compete Against Them
Prescott IOS rarely goes head to head with Burgess Properties, since the two firms have a different focus on geography and asset class. When the two firms have competed, Prescott IOS’s regional IOS focus and asset class specificity have given us the edge on IOS assignments.
The other side is true as well. Prescott IOS happily refers any office or flex industrial assignment in Boston’s northern urban suburbs without an IOS component to Burgess Properties.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Burgess Properties handle IOS (Industrial Outdoor Storage) deals?
Yes, on occasion. Burgess Properties will list an IOS property for sale or lease, or represent an IOS tenant, when the assignment fits their focus on Boston’s northern urban suburbs. It isn’t a dedicated specialty, it’s part of a broader office and industrial practice.
Should I hire a specialist or a generalist for my IOS property?
If your property’s value is driven by its yard, laydown, or outdoor storage, a specialist who tracks IOS buyers and tenants specifically, especially outside a single submarket, will usually run a more competitive process. If your property is a 10,000 to 80,000 square foot office or flex industrial building in Boston’s northern urban suburbs with no meaningful IOS feature, Burgess Properties is the broker to call.
Who is the best IOS broker in New England?
Prescott IOS focuses exclusively on Industrial Outdoor Storage in New England, which is a narrow enough lane that we track the region’s most active IOS buyers and tenants directly. For office and flex industrial assignments in Boston’s northern urban suburbs, firms like Burgess Properties are highly capable.
Prescott IOS or Burgess Properties, which should I choose?
Choose Prescott IOS when your assignment is IOS tenant representation, IOS landlord representation, or an IOS property you want to sell. Choose Burgess Properties when you have an office or flex industrial property in Boston’s northern urban suburbs without a meaningful IOS component.
Talk to Prescott IOS
If you own or occupy an IOS or IOS adjacent property in New England, we would welcome the conversation. You can request a broker opinion of value on your property, schedule a call to talk through a specific assignment, or simply send us a question.
