In commercial real estate today, you must get the pricing and marketing strategy right when it comes to listing the property.  Competing properties and economic pressures mean that the rates of enquiry for the average property are less.  We as agents must do more with less when it comes to attracting enquiry and converting offers on a property.  As part of that process, our clients should be realistic when it comes to listing and marketing their property.

As a general rule, highly priced listings with clients that are beyond the reality current market conditions should be declined.  Let some other agent struggle with the listing.

So the pricing of a property is really important.  The client will have their own impression of what the property is worth however it is likely to be inflated and not aligned to the market conditions.  Here are some rules to help you with the pricing and marketing of your listings.

1. All of your listings should be exclusive listings.  Open listings are a waste of time as you cannot control the enquiry and stock.  Only take on open listings if you want to have the property on your books; in other words you believe you can take some prospects to the property.
2. The property type and the market will have some impact on how long you should take on an exclusive listing.  Generally speaking, an exclusive listing should be for between 4 and 6 months.  If you have not sold or leased it by then, it is likely to be a ‘dead listing’ that should be taken off the market for some time to ‘freshen up’.
3. Check out the competing properties in your area before you quote prices on a property to be listed.  Understand why those properties are on the market and why they have not sold or leased yet.  Do not repeat the mistakes of those other listings.
4. New property developments will have an impact on the supply and demand for property locally.  The zoning of the property will also have a factor to consider on the listing price structure.  Study these factors and determine how they impact your property and the client.
5. Review the improvements in the property, together with the services and amenities provided.  Are they of relevance to the market today, or do they require upgrade?  Degraded or poorly maintained properties should be carefully considered prior to the start of any marketing campaign.
6. The price of a property will be impacted by the method of sale, so chose the method of sale that buyers will react to in a positive way.  The first 6 weeks of a marketing campaign are really important and you must optimise your enquiry chances.

Look at all of these things together with the factors of location for each listing.  The location could have a major impact on your property marketing campaign and pricing structure.  A successful property sale is the result of careful planning and the right decisions.