Lindsay Romaniw (Columbus, Ohio)
By now, most of us are familiar
with residential real estate websites that help users find apartments and homes
for lease or sale, such as Zillow, Trulia, etc. These search engines certainly provide
benefits to prospective tenants, buyers, landlords, owners and brokers, but they
also have drawbacks that are less obvious and can hurt all parties involved.
In the last few years, similar
models were used to create free search sites for commercial space. Using a site
like 42Floors,
businesses can conduct free searches for office space available for lease in
their desired area. A free commercial space search site seems like a great idea
for prospective tenants – as well as landlords and listing agents. So why do I
advise everyone to use cautious when using these sites?
Two reasons.
1. Many contain inaccurate information.
While you will find inaccuracies
on almost any real estate website due to the fast-paced nature of the industry,
the error rate is particularly high for free sites like 42Floors, Zillow,
Trulia, etc. These listings are often unverified because the site rarely has a
relationship with the landlord or agent, but rather pulls listings from various
uncited sources. This practice causes available space to be missing or misrepresented,
floorplans to be inaccurate, flyers to
be outdated, and the list goes on. Users
miss out on numerous office space opportunities and landlords/agents lose
potential customers and clients. Redfin did a study on the
accuracy of residential real estate websites, finding local brokerage sites to
be more accurate – and timely – than
Zillow or Trulia. One can assume this conclusion would apply to commercial real
estate websites as well.
2.
Sites gives
users a false sense of confidence.
For someone new to the commercial
real estate industry, market knowledge takes time – and resources to which an
individual using a free site simply does not have access. Looking for office
space is not an easy task; commercial real estate is a significant investment –
and leasing or buying decisions can make or break a business. According to the
American Law Institute, leasing commercial office space is one of the largest
expenses incurred by new and expanding businesses. Hence, a real estate
professional is a crucial part of the transaction. When backed by an
established firm, agents have access to the most recent market data and sales
and leasing activity. From site selection to negotiation, agents make sure
their clients find the best space for the best price.
Personal Story: I’m constantly
searching the residential real estate market in my area. One morning, I came
across a home within my budget and immediately contacted the listing agent
provided by Zillow, but the agent did not get back to me. A few hours after I
called my own real estate agent, she was able to tell me that not only was the
home unavailable, but that the owners stopped accepting offers at noon earlier
that day – although a deadline was not posted on the site – while I was waiting
for my Zillow message to go through from days before.
My experience with 42Floors was not
any better. Being responsible for my office’s marketing efforts, I try to stay
up to date on the latest commercial real estate websites. When I discovered
42Floors, I found a few Avison Young listings with old brochures attached,
incorrect suite availabilities, and one active listing that was posted as
unavailable. I immediately contacted the company, and while I did receive a
timely response allowing me to update the listings, it was the first contact I
had had with anyone from 42Floors in the years that it has been actively
advertising listings.
The industry is changing
constantly, and these websites are going to continue to pop up, as they are
becoming a useful tool for everyone involved in real estate, particularly
buyers and tenants. Avison Young offers a free and accurate search for property
listings right on its website – listings that are posted directly by the broker
and updated frequently.
My advice to users is to seek
professional help from the beginning and to verify all options. (Yes, even the
ones that say they are unavailable.) Many
times, the space you find online may be unavailable, but the agent knows of a
similar space that will be available in the next few months and is not yet
posted. Or better still, it actually is
available, and the site just had the details wrong.
In any case, don’t leave one of
the largest financial decisions that your business will make in the hands of a
free website provider.
