Why choose a private brokerage over a property portal?
At face value, the logical place to go when looking to buy or rent commercial or industrial property would be a property portal. After all, this is where you’ll find the broadest range of listings – because you’re not limiting yourself to just one brokerage’s stock. However, you should be aware that you’re likely to come across some challenges, including old listings and a focus on properties available through large brokerages. 3Cube Property Solutions breaks down some of the frustrations that you may experience – and discusses the advantages of opting to work with a trusted brokerage.
Old listings
For starters, the 3Cube team has observed that searches on Property24 sometimes showcase outdated listings. These listings may appear as though they are still available, rather than being marked as sold, under offer or leased. This causes plenty of frustration for clients, who find themselves enquiring about properties that may have been listed years ago.
The process of reporting expired listings on Property24 can be challenging. To report a property listing that’s no longer available, you have to have a letter from the owners or a signed lease agreement – which, by law, cannot be provided to a third party that isn’t part of the transaction. This sometimes leaves brokerages who want to simplify procedures for clients between a rock and a hard place.
Listings may remain active on portals even after availability has changed, which can add to client frustration. Brokerages may continue to receive enquiries on listings that are no longer available.
Small brokerages get lost on portals
Depending on the area that a property searcher is looking in, they may notice that the vast majority of the listings on Property24 come from large brokerages. Smaller agencies tend to not be able to keep up due to the value-added services spend and paid advertising that their larger counterparts are able to invest in. Thanks to this, larger agencies are putting competitors at a significant disadvantage by making it more difficult for them to generate enquiries.
Due to this battle of featured slots, brokerages often choose to feature a particular set of properties. These properties are often chosen based on how easily a tenant will be found. If the property owner is easy-going and there’s a commission incentive, the property may be more likely to be featured. On the flip side, if you’re a property owner with a specific set of requirements and no commission incentive, your property is less likely to be featured. The result is that property searchers are presented with a list of curated results, rather than immediately seeing the listings that may work best for them.
The alternative
Dealing with an individual brokerage like 3Cube Property Solutions means that you’ll be receiving up-to-date, actively managed information. Rather than browsing through listings that may already be taken, we offer a bespoke service. Our area experts will listen to your needs and find you premises that are both currently available and able to truly meet your operational needs.
Over and above this, using an individual company’s website search functionality means that you’re using a platform that has been custom-built for the commercial and industrial property market, rather than a system originally designed for residential property sales. Property portals often require certain fields – such as property rates – to be completed for your listing score to be higher. However, in the commercial and industrial property sector, landlords are unwilling to share this information. Property practitioners thus enter estimates or placeholder numbers, leading to misinformation and confusion.
If your business needs commercial, industrial or retail space in Gauteng or the Western Cape, get in touch with 3Cube Property Solutions. Our straightforward approach to real estate, coupled with our decades of experience and enthusiasm, will help your business find the right space efficiently.