Commercial Real Estate Brokers – Invest More Targeted Time in Your Commercial Property Market

When you spend time in your commercial property market you will find things to work on and develop as a broker or agent. 

The simple fact of getting out and about in the local area or precinct allows you to see things and ask questions.  The new business is out there!

Most of the new business in commercial real estate will only come to you through personal effort; don’t wait for the listings to come to you or to your office.  Look for the business and chase it down.

Build your own ‘churn’ in your local property market and particularly with ‘quality’ businesses and business owners.  Here is how you can do that.

A Key Brokerage Fact

Before I go too much further I will say one important thing that should be the core element of any new business generation strategy in our property industry:

‘Quality listings create more property opportunity and leads.’

So what can you look for in your property market?  What are the signs locally that lead to property activity?  Where are the quality listings and how can you tap into them?

These are deep questions and they need answers if you want to find the best high-quality listings in your location.

To help with that focus, for starters try some of these focus ideas and points of investigation:

• Companies going through mergers and acquisitions – A business change will commonly lead to a property change. Relocation or a new expansion strategy will evolve from a company shifting focus or undertaking a merger.  The local newspaper can be a good source of that first level of information.  Keep in close contact with the businesses locally.
• Business restructurings – When there is a change imposed in an industry such as a dip in production or a change of industry leadership, look for the people and players in that industry. Understand if the restructure will spin off some property churn and change.  Ask questions of the industry people and how they see property assisting their change requirements.
• A change in industry growth – Some industries such as mining, timber, fisheries, and motor vehicle manufacturing move through peaks and troughs of activity. The local or regional economy can also have an impact in particular industry segments and therefore influence property activity and occupancy.  Within an industry segment, there will be subsets of businesses that will be drawn into an industry trend or change.  Understand what your industry groups are doing and how a property will be impacted locally.
• Major technology upgrade or change – When you dig into an industry segment you will find factors of technology that make businesses move location or change property type. The speed of the internet is a prime example.  Some technology-based businesses must be located in areas where they can connect to the world at the higher internet speeds.  In some technology-based industrial and office parks, you will find plenty of examples of businesses that have to be near certain communication infrastructure hubs.
• Transport changes – The change of any road network and or the access to ports or airports can influence the way business based tenants connect with their customers. Look for precinct changes and interpret how local businesses will adjust to the pressures of transport and access.

You can probably add to this list when you consider the industries and businesses in your town or city.

Get involved in your business community and connect with the decision makers.   Soon you can find some valuable factors in property churn and change, be it in sales, leasing, expansion, or contraction.  The leads in the property market and there to be seen, and over time converted.

When you get a spare hour or two every day, get out into your local area and talk to everyday people. 

Ask questions about the changes and needs of properties occupancy locally.  Get close to your local business leaders and understand what they are seeing and doing.