How Tenant Movements are Leasing Opportunities for Agents
In commercial or industrial real estate leasing, there are indicators that you can look for and use with your focus on business generation with both tenants and landlords. The property leasing market is lucrative. Look around your area; check out the properties and precincts.
Focus on tenants and businesses first and foremost. From that point, you can then look for observable local business change and occupancy pressures. Ask questions.
The business owners in a street or property complex will know a lot about how other businesses are tracking on occupancy matters and operational pressures. Develop a ‘questioning process’ as you connect with more people each day. Conversations lead to opportunities.
Local Area Investigation Tips
Here are some other ideas to add to your business approaches and investigations:
- Business change – look for the local businesses that are needing change due to some variation of occupancy pressure. The decision makers of all local businesses should be approached by direct calls and door knocking. Track your progress on a street by street basis. What do the local businesses need when it comes to location, property type, property size, and access?
- Industry change can be seasonal – a change of a financial year or a seasonal sales cycle can dictate the best time for a company or corporation to relocate or expand. It is interesting to note that many businesses move or expand premises around the start of a calendar year or the start of a financial year. There is typically a 6-month lead time to a change of location. There is a pattern of contact to implement here as you look to find more businesses and tenants needing local property help.
- New ownership of corporate brand – watch the local media or newspapers for the advice of corporate change. Merges and liquidations are also catalysts for business relocation or movement.
- Better premises – as technology changes and the internet takes over the way in which some companies sell and service their goods or customer markets, greater efficiencies in occupancy and occupancy costs emerge. Older buildings are a prime source of tenants needing to relocate to better premises.
- End-user markets plus transport and access issues – the ‘physical’ aspects of property occupancy are ever present. Changes to roads, transport, and customer access issues will be catalysts for a company to relocate.
- Signage and marketing can be part of occupancy – look at signage, branding, and property image as you talk to local business owners.
- Proximity to raw materials or components – any changes to the ‘supply points’ or end-user markets for a business will be a concern. When you hear about these factors of access changing, delve into those businesses that may need resolve and greater efficiencies.
There are plenty of indicators here to watch for and work with as you ‘open up’ the leasing opportunities in your local property market. Look for the property pressures on tenants and local businesses. They are the sources of tenant movement and circulation.
