#1 in Commercial Real Estate Online

Dave Smith of RE/MAX Commercial Midwest in Omaha, NE took on a co-listing agreement for a $2.5 million retail property located in Pueblo, CO and had multiple offers in the first few weeks of posting it on LoopNet. “LoopNet is the first place I think of once the listing agreement is signed,” explains Smith. “The property was posted on LoopNet within 30 minutes of securing the listing agreement.”

The building, currently occupied by Albertsons, was part of a trust located in Dallas, TX. It drew serious interest from a buyer in New York, NY. Letter of intent in hand, Mr. Smith was working on finalizing the deal when he got a call from a broker in Los Angeles, CA representing a buyer in Tel Aviv, Israel: “They made a cash offer and beat everyone to the punch.”

The fact that the final offer was made within 3 weeks of posting on LoopNet was not a surprise to Smith. “I was working with approximately 12 serious potential buyers all sourced from LoopNet,” says Smith. “LoopNet is the way you get business done in the Midwest. I get calls several times a week from potential buyers that have looked at a property I added to LoopNet.”

Smith credits LoopNet’s Premium Membership product with providing the advantage listings need to command attention from serious buyers. “When I see a premium listing, I know someone thinks this property is worth something,” says Smith. Having worked with owners who make premium exposure on LoopNet part of the contract, a premium listing signifies confidence and value to Smith.

Widespread exposure to serious buyers is often the first obstacle to completing a transaction in today’s marketplace. “If it wasn’t for LoopNet, this deal wouldn’t have happened,” states Smith.

View Dave Smith's Listings

A Blog is an easy to use platform that allows you to instantly publish your personal articles, advice and commentary online.

Blogging helps you to display your expertise and establish industry credibility. Plus, content is often indexed by major search engines giving you the opportunity to attract new clients.

LoopNet has made starting a blog fast, easy and free with the new LoopNet Profile.

Step 1 - Write It
To get started, you will need one idea for one post. You can write about anything. The key to a successful blog is to provide content that will connect with your intended audience. Once you've identified a topic, start putting together the content. Here are a few ideas for a first blog post:

• Answer a common question about your business
• Turn to market statistics and examine trends
• Share a recent experience

Step 2 - Name It
A strong title will pull people into your content. Here are a few methods for developing a title, along with some examples that we have come across.

• Capture Attention
“I'm Going to Take Your Listings, Your Buyers and All of Your Clients.”


• Try A Descriptive SEO Friendly Title
“3 Tips for Analyzing Distressed Properties”


• Go For Humor
"Due to Budget Cuts the Light At the End of the Tunnel Has been
Turned Off”

Don't forget that prospective clients will see these posts, so consider your brand and the image you want to portray when developing your title.


Step 3 - Publish It
LoopNet makes posting your blog simple with your free member profile. Just follow these easy steps:

STEP 1 Log into your LoopNet account
STEP 2 Click the "My Profile" tab
STEP 3 Click the "Blog" tab
STEP 4 Enter your title and content
STEP 5 Categorize your post
STEP 6 Publish it

Joe Tang, Founder & CEO of AuctionPoint, a leading provider of broker-friendly online commercial property auction solutions, shares his insights:

"The industry's new kid on the block is a technology offering and online business model that gives brokers a means to stay ahead of their competition: commercial real estate online auctions. These platforms are taking an important step forward in breaking the logjam of unsold commercial property by better meeting pricing expectations and creating a sense of urgency and excitement that has been missing in the market.

Once viewed as a measure of "last-resort" for distressed properties, auctions are becoming more prevalent and adding value to traditional sales. In 2008 alone, $15.5 billion in commercial real estate was sold via auction, and that number is likely to increase once the 2009 figures are released.

...

The advancing technology in the auction space provides speed that is attractive to sellers, pricing that is attractive to buyers and the innovative marketing that is attractive to brokers. Online auctions likely will motivate more qualified buyers to get off the sideline, which means promoting liquidity in an otherwise stagnant market and achieving true market value for properties. And, in turn, help stabilize the real estate market across all sectors."

The full article here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joe-tang/can-technology-help-solve_b_537532.html