Although the COVID-19 pandemic hurt commercial property values during 2020, they largely rebounded in 2021. Some investment experts even believe that retail is one of few types of commercial real estate that investors should take seriously until the pandemic passes.
Whether you decide to invest in or negotiate the sale of retail property will probably depend on your local CRE trends. Before you can spot opportunities for growing revenues, you need an efficient, reliable way to find retail property for sale.
Know What Features You Want in Retail Property
Before you devote any of your time and energy to finding retail property for sale, make a list of requirements you need from CRE. Many real estate professionals skip this critical step because it doesn’t feel like progress. In reality, setting aside some time to make a list of essential features will help you save a lot of time once you start comparing retail property options.
Some of the questions to ask yourself include:
How much money do I want to invest?
Depending on your situation, you might have a very specific answer for this. If you plan to invest in retail property without financial help from other investors, you might know that you can spend $1 million on a property.
If you have several investors pooling their money, you might get to take a more flexible approach. Talk to your investors so you can create a realistic range. That way, you don’t waste your energy on real estate that costs too much.
Where do you want to buy retail property?
Do you have specific locations in mind? Perhaps a certain area of your town has been drawing a lot of attention lately because of new developments or revitalization efforts. If you want to get involved, focus on properties near that location.
What kind of retail property interests you?
There are a lot of retail properties that can generate solid returns on your investment. That doesn’t mean all of them fit your portfolio, though. If you’re new to CRE, you might want to invest in a stand-alone store for one business. That way, you only need to manage one tenant. If you have a lot of experience and access to the right resources, you might want to explore malls and shopping centers. They usually require more work, but they could give you higher returns.
What do you want to avoid?
It’s equally important to know what you do not want in a retail property for sale. Maybe you want to avoid real estate located at busy intersections or in areas with tax rates. Make a list of deal-breakers, so you don’t waste time pursuing CRE that you will dislike.
Options for Finding Retail Property for Sale
Now that you know what you do and do not want from retail properties, you can start thinking about how to find and compare opportunities.
Use a Multiple Listing Service (MLS)
A multiple listing service works well in some circumstances. Keep in mind, though, that the retail properties listed with the MLS are owned by people who already know that they want to sell their CRE. They’ve probably spent money on upgrades and marketing. Plus, they’re looking to make as much money as possible.
Ideally, you want to find off-market retail properties owned by people who haven’t decided to sell. That way, you can potentially buy the real estate at a lower price, making it easier to generate a higher ROI.
Contact Retail Property Owners
If you want to buy in an area you know well, you might already have a list of properties that interest you. You can also drive around town and write down the addresses of properties that look like they could fit your requirements.
This approach will take you a lot of time because you need to find the properties, get the right phone numbers for property owners, and make sure the real estate meets your requirements. Creating a lead list becomes an exhausting project.
Network With Other Real Estate Professionals
Most of the time, you probably think of other real estate brokers and investors as your competitors. That’s usually true, but you can also work together as colleagues. When you network with other professionals, you get a good idea of what properties interest them. Then, you can share real estate leads that you don’t want but fit their needs. They might return the favor later on.
Get Insightful, Accurate Data From ProspectNow
Finding retail properties that meet your requirements becomes much easier when you use ProspectNow’s commercial database. The database has listings for more than 41 million commercial properties.
You can narrow your search by focusing on your area and filtering out retail property listings that do not match your requirements. Then, ProspectNow can generate a lead list that gives you the accurate contact information of each real estate owner. When you find properties owned by companies, you also get the contact information of decision-makers within the organization. That way, you can concentrate on talking to the right people.
Perhaps most importantly, ProspectNow uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to drive its predictive analytics. The platform’s predictive analytics review data to find off-market listings. For existing, the platform will highlight properties that have lost tenants recently. If the owner cannot fill those empty spaces, that person will lose money in the near future. When you reach out to talk about buying the property, you create a financial opportunity that helps the owner avoid distress. You also benefit by getting the retail property at an off-market price.
Let ProspectNow Help You Find Retail Property for Sale
ProspectNow has been around for over a decade (since 2008). The data that users get from ProspectNow is a lot more expensive on competing platforms. By using ProspectNow, you will close more deals, and, therefore, make more money! ProspectNow is a vital tool for business success in real estate or real estate marketing.
If you want to see how ProsectNow can benefit you, schedule a free demo to experience its features in action.