Critical Figures in Commercial Real Estate Agency Today
In commercial real estate, you must market yourself effectively and directly as a top real estate agent. The agency must also do the same when attracting the right business and listing opportunities.
For this reason you need to track the figures relative to the market and your local area. When your figures change, you know that you are getting somewhere, and your market takes on a whole new aspect.
It is no secret that the commercial property market is changing regularly and quickly today. In many respects, listings are taking longer to sell or lease unless the correct marketing strategy is coupled with the appropriate price or rental. Every marketing dollar spent should be carefully considered to attract the right level of enquiry.
real estate distractions Happen
Things that divert us from the actual facts and activity can occasionally happen in the industry. In simple terms, we need to know what is happening and what the trends are saying.
Look around your location and your property types. Start gathering the numbers. You can track the right figures to help you in this process. The trends with ‘numbers’ will help you make ongoing comparisons when doing a new listing. Here are some ideas.
- SALES LISTINGS: The number of listings available for sale will change throughout the year. There will be some seasonal pressure on listings regarding sales results. Track the listings and sales every month so you know what is coming and going in the market.
- LEASE LISTINGS: The number of listings available for lease will change based on supply and demand for occupied space. The level of business sentiment in the neighbourhood will also have an impact on the number of vacancies. Track the premises vacancies and the vacancy rates across your area on a monthly basis. Those vacancies will influence the incentives to be provided to potential tenants.
- TIME ON MARKET: The time on the market for a sale or lease will vary by property type and location. When you understand a listing, you can relate to any factors of time delay that may occur in achieving a sale or a lease. The method of sale or lease and the type of listing (open or exclusive) will also have an impact on how long the property is on the market.
- QUALITY OF LISTED STOCK: Quality properties will usually move quickly in any market. Average and below-average properties will usually stay on the market for a very long time. That then says that overpriced and average properties create limited interest and could be on the market for months, if not years. Top agents tend to focus on quality properties as a priority. They also focus on exclusive listings. You can do the same.
- ENQUIRIES: The number of enquiries coming into your office weekly will vary by salesperson and property type. That being said, you should still track the number of enquiries coming in to your office, as that will give you some trending that will help you with marketing and listing.
- RESULTS FROM CAMPAIGNS: The marketing results you get from each listing campaign will be helpful to understand. Some aspects of marketing will be more successful than others. There is a delicate balance between marketing results and marketing costs. When you know what works, you can understand what the best value is when it comes to marketing spend. The client can then be suitably briefed on the best marketing campaign to attract the highest level of enquiry.
- LISTING TYPES: On a personal level, you should track the number of open and exclusive listings you have and the commission levels you receive from your settlements over time. Over time, you want the number of exclusive listings to rise and open listings to fall.
- SALE PRICES AND LEASING RENTS: Track the actual sales and leasing activity results. The best way to do that is to use a note-taking app on your mobile phone or computer to access results quickly and easily when preparing to talk to people.
When you understand what the figures are doing, the commercial real estate industry becomes a little bit more relative and brings you more opportunity. The figures can tell you where to focus your efforts in prospecting, listing, and negotiating.
