IRVINE, CA—One of GlobeSt.com’s sister publication Real Estate Forum’s “2014 Fifty Under 40,” Eric Wohl closed 15 transactions valued at more than $124 million through the end of August and has closed more than $700 million in transactions over the last 12 years. Head of Hanley Investment Group’s division, HIG NNN, Wohl specializes in representing clients in the acquisition and disposition of triple-net investments and retail shopping centers nationwide.
Wohl has achieved record prices for his clients through is extensive market knowledge, comprehensive property analysis, aggressive marketing strategies and excellent industry relationships. His expertise, commitment and unwavering focus of putting his clients’ needs first set him apart from his competitors, according to the firm.
Awarded HIG’s top-producer award in 2006, 2010, 2011 and 2012, Wohl currently sits in the top spot year-to-date for 2014. In June 2013, he was recognized in Forum as one of “Tomorrow’s Leaders in So Cal” among the top 25 most promising young professionals in Southern California real estate.
Wohl says he knew he wanted to pursue commercial real estate at a young age. Throughout high school, he was exposed to CRE through the family business and an internship at CBRE. While in college at University of San Diego, he elected to study business with an emphasis in real estate, furthering his CRE knowledge and drive. He chose CRE as a career path for three main reasons: his passion for retail shopping centers, the opportunity to create long-lasting business relationships and friends and the ability to control his own financial destiny through a committed work ethic.
Before joining HIG, Wohl was an associate at Marcus & Millichap, where he was one of the top-performing brokers in the firm’s Newport Beach office from 2003 to 2004. He earned a spot as one of the top 10 brokers in that office in 2004 and was a candidate for National Rookie of the Year.
In the short term, Wohl tells Forum he looks forward to closing out 2014 as the best year of his career and carrying that momentum forward into 2015. Long term, he is committed to building the HIG NNN division of Hanley to be one of the premier brokerage houses focusing on selling single-tenant net-leased investments nationwide.
Wohl also notes several major trends in his area of focus. “Single-tenant net-lease properties continue to be one of the most desirable product types for commercial real estate investors available today. Net lease retail capitalization rates remain at historically low levels with new records being set every day. Due to their ‘hassle-free lease structure, we are starting to see many investors crossing over from apartments, office or multi-tenant retail to retail net-lease investments.”
He adds that while CRE brokerage will always be a people-based business focused on long-term relationships, “professionals both young and old must start embracing the use of technology in their day-to-day business to compete. Social media, web marketing and analytics websites are just a few examples of how technology has drastically changed how real estate professionals conduct business.”