John Lee & Associates

What John Lee & Associates does

John Lee & Associates, Inc. is a boutique commercial real estate brokerage founded in 1997 and headquartered at 5520 Greenwich Road, Suite 207, Virginia Beach, Virginia. The firm specializes in industrial and office-warehouse properties across the Hampton Roads region of southeastern Virginia, with active coverage in Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Franklin. Its principal, John M. Lee, SIOR, leads the firm with approximately 40 years of commercial real estate experience, supported by next-generation family leadership (John Thomas Lee II, Vice President of Operations) and an office manager (Haylee Conley). The organization operates with a headcount in the 1-10 range, positioning it as a focused, relationship-driven local practice rather than a platform-scale brokerage.

The firm's core product is brokerage representation — both buyer and seller agency — for industrial and flex/warehouse properties, evidenced by closed and active assignments with disclosed deal values spanning roughly $2.2M to $22.5M. The firm does not operate a proprietary technology platform; its deliverables are traditional real-estate services: listing origination, tenant and buyer representation, market analysis, lease negotiation, and sale closing. Underlying technology is limited to standard industry tooling (listings databases, CRM, marketing collateral production).

John Lee & Associates operates a transaction-fee revenue model, earning commissions on closed sales and lease transactions. Compensation is tied to deal size and commission rate, with both listing-side and buyer-side fees split with cooperating brokers per industry convention. Customers include local private investors, regional owner-operators, and national tenants or buyers with Hampton Roads requirements. The firm has no recurring or subscription revenue, no disclosed institutional capital, and no ownership beyond the founding family.

Name

John Lee & Associates

Legal name

John Lee & Associates, Inc.

Website

https://johnleeassociates.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

John Lee & Associates is a boutique commercial real estate brokerage founded in 1997 in Virginia Beach, VA, specializing in industrial and warehouse properties across the Hampton Roads region for local investors and regional/national companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage

NAICS

Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210), Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (53121)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Commercial Real Estate Brokerage (Leasing & Sales) (FSAEAJAB)

Keywords

• Industrial real estate brokerage
• Commercial property leasing
• Warehouse property sales
• Tenant representation services
• Industrial property acquisitions

Headquarters

HQ city

Virginia Beach

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Commercial Real Estate Brokerage Commissions: The company generates revenue through commissions on the sale, lease, and acquisition of industrial and office warehouse properties. As a boutique brokerage, they represent both landlords (tenants seeking space) and buyers/investors in commercial real estate transactions in the Hampton Roads market.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

John Lee & Associates is a boutique industrial real estate brokerage that represents owners, investors, tenants, and buyers in the sale, lease, and acquisition of industrial and office/warehouse properties across the Hampton Roads, Virginia market area. The firm offers full-service brokerage from prospect to close, applying hands-on principal involvement on every listing and tenant representation assignment.

Product overview

John Lee & Associates is a single-service commercial real estate firm offering industrial real estate brokerage services including sales, leasing, and acquisitions. The company focuses exclusively on industrial and office warehouse properties in the Hampton Roads, Virginia market area, providing hands-on, personalized service through its small team structure.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Real Estate Brokerage Services Full-service commercial real estate brokerage specializing in sales, leasing, and acquisitions of industrial and office warehouse properties in the Hampton Roads, Virginia market area, serving local, regional, and national companies and investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Successfully closed multiple multi-million dollar industrial property transactions in Hampton Roads region including $22.5M+ combined sale

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• CBRE Group: Largest global commercial real estate services firm with a market-leading industrial and logistics brokerage practice. Competes with John Lee & Associates for major industrial occupier mandates in Hampton Roads, especially from national tenants requiring multi-market representation.
• JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle): Global real estate services firm with substantial industrial brokerage, tenant representation, and capital markets capabilities. Represents the institutional alternative that corporate occupiers may select over a boutique firm for large or multi-region industrial requirements.
• Cushman & Wakefield: Global commercial real estate services firm with a deep industrial and logistics practice. Often the tenant-rep counterparty on larger Hampton Roads deals that compete directly with boutique brokers such as John Lee & Associates.
• Newmark Group: Commercial real estate advisory firm with growing industrial logistics practice and capital markets capabilities. Competes for institutional industrial mandates in mid-size markets and would be a viable alternative for clients outgrowing a boutique.
• Colliers International: Global commercial real estate services and investment management firm with dedicated industrial and logistics brokerage teams. Provides a broader service portfolio and multi-market reach than boutique industrial specialists.

Direct peers

• Divaris Real Estate: Virginia-headquartered commercial real estate brokerage providing sales, leasing, and tenant and landlord representation services across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. Comparable operating model with multi-market regional reach versus John Lee's Hampton Roads focus.
• S.L. Nusbaum Realty Co. Norfolk-based full-service commercial real estate firm offering brokerage, property management, and leasing in Hampton Roads. Overlaps with John Lee & Associates in industrial and office leasing plus tenant representation across the same geography.
• Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer: Virginia-based commercial real estate firm with a strong Hampton Roads office offering industrial brokerage, tenant representation, and investment sales. Directly competes with John Lee & Associates for the same local industrial landlord and tenant mandates.
• Lee & Associates: National commercial real estate brokerage firm with strong industrial and office brokerage practices across the U.S. Shares the industrial brokerage specialty and brokerage-for-others commission model, making it the most directly comparable peer to John Lee & Associates despite operating at vastly larger scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about John Lee & Associates