Commercial, industrial, and retail real estate does not need to be complicated. It is simply a matter of understanding the factors at play and the trends of the market. Every town or city will be unique when it comes to property trends and changes.
Are you ready to find some new business? Commercial real estate is a dynamic industry, and as a result, it is absolutely essential for brokers and agents to stay on top of their market and industry trends throughout the year.
To successfully work in the commercial property industry, you become a personal marketer to build your real estate brand and listing market share. Talking to more people every day will produce good results in brokerage over time. It is a consistent process of contact and communication.
The Real Estate Trends to Watch and Track
Where can you start to find property pressures, clients, and listings? For starters, you will need to narrow down your search to a specific area of your town or city before you begin your real estate investigations.
That zone will include a number of properties, specific streets, and different types of properties. The idea is that you are a property solution service to business owners and property investors.
In marketing, research, and investigation, that zone or area will serve as your primary point of concentration. Within that zone, you’ll need to keep an eye on prices, rents, and available listings. Most of your business (80%) should come from within that primary zone. The 20% balance of your business can come from the other zones, and you can label them as ‘secondary’.
Know that some buildings will be better than others and some locations will be more desirable than others. Do a SWOT analysis across your precincts and territory.
Things to Look For in Your Property Market
Some of the significant trends to watch in the local commercial real estate industry will include the following:
- Understand what the local property owners are looking for when it comes to finding investment property. Some property types will be more attractive than others to the local property owners and investors. The same can be said for property price ranges. The availability of finance in the property market will have an impact on property enquiry and transactions.
- Are the local property owners looking to expand or contract their property ownership and property portfolio? It should be said that it usually takes time to find the right people behind the ownership structures with commercial real estate. It is quite common for property investors to be hidden inside company structures or property trusts. Getting to the right people can be quite a challenge. That being said, it is just a matter of selecting the targeted properties and working through them gradually over a period of time. Diligence and consistency to the task will help you enormously.
- Local businesses will either occupy premises as tenants or own the property in which they are located. In each respect, and at some stage, they will need property assistance from time to time; that is where the commercial real estate expert can provide great value and experience. If you are new to the particular property market, get to know the local businesses as soon as possible as part of your prospecting efforts. They can give you valuable market intelligence given that they know their area and their neighbouring businesses better than you do. If you ask them the right questions, you will soon uncover listing opportunities. Some of those businesses will also be looking for alternative premises or relocation.
- Other agents in your local area will be listing properties of different types and price ranges. Some of those agents will not be successful in moving or converting their listings. You will also note that some of those agents are generally less successful or relevant when it comes to commercial and retail real estate. It is hard for a general real estate agent to be relevant and successful when it comes to commercial property. Knowledge is everything when it comes to building a significant bank of listings and converting the right transactions.
Gathering market intelligence is a special process when it comes to commercial real estate. Over time you can identify many opportunities and build on your market share.
