business plan for commercial real estate

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• Writing a Business Plan

Writing a business plan may seem a daunting task as there are so many moving parts and concepts to address. Take it one step at a time and be sure to schedule regular review (quarterly, semi-annually, or annually) of your plan to be sure you on are track to meet your goals.

Why Write a Business Plan?

Making a business plan creates the foundation for your business. It provides an easy-to-understand framework and allows you to navigate the unexpected.

Quick Takeaways

• A good business plan not only creates a road map for your business, but helps you work through your goals and get them on paper
• Business plans come in many formats and contain many sections, but even the most basic should include a mission and vision statement, marketing plans, and a proposed management structure
• Business plans can help you get investors and new business partners

Source: Write Your Business Plan: United States Small Business Association

Writing a business plan is imperative to getting your business of the ground. While every plan is different – and most likely depends on the type and size of your business – there are some basic elements you don’t want to ignore.

Latest on this topic

NAR Library & Archives has already done the research for you. References (formerly Field Guides) offer links to articles, eBooks, websites, statistics, and more to provide a comprehensive overview of perspectives. EBSCO articles ( E ) are available only to NAR members and require the member's nar.realtor login.

Defining Your Mis​sion & Vision

Writing a business plan begins by defining your business’s mission and vision statement. Though creating such a statement may seem like fluff, it is an important exercise. The mission and vision statement sets the foundation upon which to launch your business. It is difficult to move forward successfully without first defining your business and the ideals under which your business operates. A company description should be included as a part of the mission and vision statement. Some questions you should ask yourself include: 

• What type of real estate do you sell?
• Where is your business located?
• Who founded your business?
• What sets your business apart from your competitors?

What is a Vision Statement ( Business News Daily , Jan. 16, 2024)

How to Write a Mission Statement ( The Balance , Jan. 2, 2020)

How to Write a Mission Statement ( Janel M. Radtke , 1998)

Using a SWOT Analysis to Structure Your Business Plan

Once you’ve created a mission and vision statement, the next step is to develop a SWOT analysis. SWOT stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.” It is difficult to set goals for your business without first enumerating your business’s strengths and weaknesses, and the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors. Evaluate by using the following questions:

• Do you offer superior customer service as compared with your competitors?
• Do you specialize in a niche market? What experiences do you have that set you apart from your competitors?
• What are your competitors’ strengths?
• Where do you see the market already saturated, and where are there opportunities for expansion and growth?

Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, and Threat (SWOT) ( Investopedia , Oct. 30, 2023)

How to Conduct a SWOT Analysis for Your Small Business ( SCORE , Apr. 28, 2022)

SWOT Analysis Toolbox ( University of Washington )

Setting ​Business Goals

Next, translate your mission and vision into tangible goals. For instance, if your mission statement is to make every client feel like your most important client, think about the following:

• How specifically will you implement this?
• Do you want to grow your business?
• Is this growth measured by gross revenue, profit, personnel, or physical office space?
• How much growth do you aim for annually?
• What specific targets will you strive to hit annually in the next few years?

Setting Business Goals & Objectives: 4 Considerations ( Harvard Business School , Oct. 31, 2023)

What are Business Goals? Definition, How To Set Business Goals and Examples ( Indeed , Jul. 31, 2023)

Establishing a Format

Most businesses either follow a traditional business plan format or a lean startup plan.

Traditional Business Plan

A traditional business plan is detailed and comprehensive. Writing this business plan takes more time. A traditional business plan typically contains the following elements:

• Executive Summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Organization and management
• Service or product line
• Marketing and sales
• Funding request
• Financial projections

Lean Startup Plan

A lean startup plan requires high-level focus but is easier to write, with an emphasis on key elements. A lean startup plan typically contains the following elements:

• Key partnerships
• Key activities
• Key resources
• Value proposition
• Customer relationships
• Customer segments
• Cost structure
• Revenue stream

Creating a Marketing Plan

You may wish to create a marketing plan as either a section of your business plan or as an addendum. The Marketing Mix concerns product , price , place and promotion .

• What is your product?
• How does your price distinguish you from your competitors—is it industry average, upper quartile, or lower quartile?
• How does your pricing strategy benefit your clients?
• How and where will you promote your services?
• What types of promotions will you advertise?
• Will you ask clients for referrals or use coupons?
• Which channels will you use to place your marketing message?

Your Guide to Creating a Small Business Marketing Plan ( Business.com , Feb. 2, 2024)

10 Questions You Need to Answer to Create a Powerful Marketing Plan ( The Balance , Jan. 16, 2020)

Developing a Marketing Plan ( Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation )

Forming a Team

Ensuring the cooperation of all colleagues, supervisors, and supervisees involved in your plan is another important element to consider. Some questions to consider are:

• Is your business plan’s success contingent upon the cooperation of your colleagues?
• If so, what specifically do you need them to do?
• How will you evaluate their participation?
• Are they on-board with the role you have assigned them?
• How will you get “buy in” from these individuals?

How to Build a Real Estate Team + 7 Critical Mistakes to Avoid ( The Close , May 17, 2023)

Don’t Start a Real Estate Team Without Asking Yourself These 8 Questions ( Homelight , Jan. 21, 2020)

Implementing a Business Plan and Reviewing Regularly

Implementation and follow-up are frequently overlooked aspects to the business plan, yet vital to the success of the plan. Set dates (annually, semi-annually, quarterly, or monthly) to review your business plans goals. Consider the following while reviewing:

• Are you on track?
• Are the goals reasonable to achieve, impossible, or too easy?
• How do you measure success—is it by revenue, profit, or number of transactions?

And lastly, think about overall goals.

• How do you plan to implement your business plan’s goals?
• When will you review and refine your business plan goals?
• What process will you use to review your goals?
• What types of quantitative and qualitative data will you collect and use to measure your success?

These items are only a few sections of a business plan. Depending on your business, you may want to include additional sections in your plan such as a:

• Cover letter stating the reasoning behind developing a business plan
• Non-disclosure statement
• Table of contents

How To Write a Business Proposal Letter (With Examples) ( Indeed , Jul. 18, 2023)

How To Implement Your Business Plan Objectives ( The Balance , Aug. 19, 2022)

The Bottom Line

Creating a business plan may seem daunting, but by understanding your business and market fully, you can create a plan that generates success (however you choose to define it).

Real Estate Business Plans – Samples, Instructional Guides, and Templates

9 Steps to Writing a Real Estate Business Plan + Templates ( The Close , Apr. 3, 2024)

How to Write a Real Estate Business Plan (+Free Template) ( Fit Small Business , Jun. 30, 2023)

The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Real Estate Business Plan + Free Template ( Placester )

Write Your Business Plan ( U.S. Small Business Administration )

General Business Plans – Samples, Instructional Guides, and Templates

Business Plan Template for a Startup Business ( SCORE , Apr. 23, 2024)

Guide to Creating a Business Plan with Template (Business News Daily, Mar. 28, 2024)

Nine Lessons These Entrepreneurs Wish They Knew Before Writing Their First Business Plans ( Forbes , Jul. 25, 2021)

How to Write a Business Plan 101 ( Entrepreneur , Feb. 22, 2021)

Books, eBooks & Other Resources

Ebooks & other resources.

The following eBooks and digital audiobooks are available to NAR members:

The Straightforward Business Plan (eBook)

Business Plan Checklist (eBook)

The SWOT Analysis (eBook)

The Business Plan Workbook (eBook)

Start-Up! A Beginner's Guide to Planning a 21st Century Business (eBook)

Complete Book of Business Plans (eBook)

How to Write a Business Plan (eBook)

The Easy Step by Step Guide to Writing a Business Plan and Making it Work (eBook)

Business Planning: 25 Keys to a Sound Business Plan (Audiobook)

Your First Business Plan, 5 th Edition (eBook)

Anatomy of a Business Plan (eBook)

Writing a Business Plan and Making it Work (Audiobook)

The Social Network Business Plan (eBook)

Books, Videos, Research Reports & More

As a member benefit, the following resources and more are available for loan through the NAR Library. Items will be mailed directly to you or made available for pickup at the REALTOR® Building in Chicago.

Writing an Effective Business Plan (Deloitte and Touche, 1999) HD 1375 D37w

Have an idea for a real estate topic? Send us your suggestions .

The inclusion of links on this page does not imply endorsement by the National Association of REALTORS®. NAR makes no representations about whether the content of any external sites which may be linked in this page complies with state or federal laws or regulations or with applicable NAR policies. These links are provided for your convenience only and you rely on them at your own risk.

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How To Write A Real Estate Business Plan

What is a real estate business plan?

8 must-haves in a business plan

How to write a business plan

Real estate business plan tips

Success in the real estate investing industry won’t happen overnight, and it definitely won’t happen without proper planning or implementation. For entrepreneurs, a  real estate development business plan can serve as a road map to all of your business operations. Simply put, a real estate business plan will serve an essential role in forming your investing career.

Investors will need to strategize several key elements to create a successful business plan. These include future goals, company values, financing strategies, and more. Once complete, a business plan can create the foundation for smooth operations and outline a future with unlimited potential for your investing career. Keep reading to learn how to create a real estate investment business plan today.

What Is A Real Estate Investing Business Plan?

A real estate business plan is a living document that provides the framework for business operations and goals. A business plan will include future goals for the company and organized steps to get there. While business plans can vary from investor to investor, they will typically include planning for one to five years at a time.

Drafting a business plan for real estate investing purposes is, without a doubt, one of the single most important steps a new investor can take. An REI business plan will help you avoid potential obstacles while simultaneously placing you in a position to succeed. It is a blueprint to follow when things are going according to plan and even when they veer off course. If for nothing else, a real estate company’s business plan will ensure that investors know which steps to follow to achieve their goals. In many ways, nothing is more valuable to today’s investors. It is the plan, after all, to follow the most direct path to success.

8 Must-Haves In A Real Estate Business Plan

As a whole, a real estate business plan should address a company’s short and long-term goals. To accurately portray a company’s vision, the right business plan will require more information than a future vision. A strong real estate investing business plan will provide a detailed look at its ins and outs. This can include the organizational structure, financial information, marketing outline, and more.  When done right, it will serve as a comprehensive overview for anyone who interacts with your business, whether internally or externally.

That said, creating an REI business plan will require a persistent attention to detail. For new investors drafting a real estate company business plan may seem like a daunting task, and quite honestly it is. The secret is knowing which ingredients must be added (and when). Below are seven must-haves for a well executed business plan:

Outline the company values and mission statement.

Break down future goals into short and long term.

Strategize the strengths and weaknesses of the company.

Formulate the best investment strategy for each property and your respective goals.

Include potential marketing and branding efforts.

State how the company will be financed (and by whom).

Explain who is working for the business.

Answer any “what ifs” with backup plans and exit strategies.

These components matter the most, and a quality real estate business plan will delve into each category to ensure maximum optimization.

A company vision statement is essentially your mission statement and values. While these may not be the first step in planning your company, a vision will be crucial to the success of your business. Company values will guide you through investment decisions and inspire others to work with your business time and time again. They should align potential employees, lenders, and possible tenants with the motivations behind your company.

Before writing your company vision, think through examples you like both in and out of the real estate industry. Is there a company whose values you identify with? Or, are there mission statements you dislike? Use other companies as a starting point when creating your own set of values. Feel free to reach out to your mentor or other network connections for feedback as you plan. Most importantly, think about the qualities you value and how they can fit into your business plan.

Goals are one of the most important elements in a successful business plan. This is because not only do goals provide an end goal for your company, but they also outline the steps required to get there. It can be helpful to think about goals in two categories: short-term and long-term. Long-term goals will typically outline your plans for the company. These can include ideal investment types, profit numbers, and company size. Short-term goals are the smaller, actionable steps required to get there.

For example, one long-term business goal could be to land four wholesale deals by the end of the year. Short-term goals will make this more achievable by breaking it into smaller steps. A few short-term goals that might help you land those four wholesale deals could be to create a direct mail campaign for your market area, establish a buyers list with 50 contacts, and secure your first property under contract. Breaking down long-term goals is a great way to hold yourself accountable, create deadlines and accomplish what you set out to.

3. SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. A SWOT analysis involves thinking through each of these areas as you evaluate your company and potential competitors. This framework allows business owners to better understand what is working for the company and identify potential areas for improvement. SWOT analyses are used across industries as a way to create more actionable solutions to potential issues.

To think through a SWOT analysis for your real estate business plan, first, identify your company’s potential strengths and weaknesses. Do you have high-quality tenants? Are you struggling to raise capital? Be honest with yourself as you write out each category. Then, take a step back and look at your market area and competitors to identify threats and opportunities. A potential threat could be whether or not your rental prices are in line with comparable properties. On the other hand, a potential opportunity could boost your property’s amenities to be more competitive in the area.

4. Investment Strategy

Any good real estate investment business plan requires the ability to implement a sound investment strategy. If for nothing else, there are several exit strategies a business may execute to secure profits: rehabbing, wholesaling, and renting — to name a few. Investors will want to analyze their market and determine which strategy will best suit their goals. Those with long-term retirement goals may want to consider leaning heavily into rental properties. However, those without the funds to build a rental portfolio may want to consider getting started by wholesaling. Whatever the case may be, now is the time to figure out what you want to do with each property you come across. It is important to note, however, that this strategy will change from property to property. Therefore, investors need to determine their exit strategy based on the asset and their current goals. This section needs to be added to a real estate investment business plan because it will come in handy once a prospective deal is found.

5. Marketing Plan

While marketing may seem like the cherry on top of a sound business plan, marketing efforts will actually play an integral role in your business’s foundation. A marketing plan should include your business logo, website, social media outlets, and advertising efforts. Together these elements can build a solid brand for your business, which will help you build a strong business reputation and ultimately build trust with investors, clients, and more.

First, to plan your marketing, think about how your brand can illustrate the company values and mission statement you have created. Consider the ways you can incorporate your vision into your logo or website. Remember, in addition to attracting new clients, marketing efforts can also help maintain relationships with existing connections. For a step by step guide to drafting a real estate marketing plan , be sure to read this guide.

6. Financing Plan

Writing the financial portion of a business plan can be tricky, especially if you are starting your business. As a general rule, a financial plan will include the income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet for a business. A financial plan should also include short and long-term goals regarding the profits and losses of a company. Together, this information will help make business decisions, raise capital, and report on business performance.

Perhaps the most important factor when creating a financial plan is accuracy. While many investors want to report on high profits or low losses, manipulating data will not boost your business performance in any way. Come up with a system of organization that works for you and always ensure your financial statements are authentic. As a whole, a financial plan should help you identify what is and isn’t working for your business.

7. Teams & Small Business Systems

No successful business plan is complete without an outline of the operations and management. Think: how your business is being run and by whom. This information will include the organizational structure, office management (if any), and an outline of any ongoing projects or properties. Investors can even include future goals for team growth and operational changes when planning this information.

Even if you are just starting or have yet to launch your business, it is still necessary to plan your business structure. Start by planning what tasks you will be responsible for, and look for areas you will need help with. If you have a business partner, think through your strengths and weaknesses and look for areas you can best complement each other. For additional guidance, set up a meeting with your real estate mentor. They can provide valuable insights into their own business structure, which can serve as a jumping-off point for your planning.

8. Exit Strategies & Back Up Plans

Believe it or not, every successful company out there has a backup plan. Businesses fail every day, but investors can position themselves to survive even the worst-case scenario by creating a backup plan. That’s why it’s crucial to strategize alternative exit strategies and backup plans for your investment business. These will help you create a plan of action if something goes wrong and help you address any potential problems before they happen.

This section of a business plan should answer all of the “what if” questions a potential lender, employee, or client might have. What if a property remains on the market for longer than expected? What if a seller backs out before closing? What if a property has a higher than average vacancy rate? These questions (and many more) are worth thinking through as you create your business plan.

How To Write A Real Estate Investment Business Plan: Template

The impact of a truly great real estate investment business plan can last for the duration of your entire career, whereas a poor plan can get in the way of your future goals. The truth is: a real estate business plan is of the utmost importance, and as a new investor it deserves your undivided attention. Again, writing a business plan for real estate investing is no simple task, but it can be done correctly. Follow our real estate investment business plan template to ensure you get it right the first time around:

Write an executive summary that provides a birds eye view of the company.

Include a description of company goals and how you plan to achieve them.

Demonstrate your expertise with a thorough market analysis.

Specify who is working at your company and their qualifications.

Summarize what products and services your business has to offer.

Outline the intended marketing strategy for each aspect of your business.

1. Executive Summary

The first step is to define your mission and vision. In a nutshell, your executive summary is a snapshot of your business as a whole, and it will generally include a mission statement, company description, growth data, products and services, financial strategy, and future aspirations. This is the “why” of your business plan, and it should be clearly defined.

2. Company Description

The next step is to examine your business and provide a high-level review of the various elements, including goals and how you intend to achieve them. Investors should describe the nature of their business, as well as their targeted marketplace. Explain how services or products will meet said needs, address specific customers, organizations, or businesses the company will serve, and explain the competitive advantage the business offers.

3. Market Analysis

This section will identify and illustrate your knowledge of the industry. It will generally consist of information about your target market, including distinguishing characteristics, size, market shares, and pricing and gross margin targets. A thorough market outline will also include your SWOT analysis.

4. Organization & Management

This is where you explain who does what in your business. This section should include your company’s organizational structure, details of the ownership, profiles on the management team, and qualifications. While this may seem unnecessary as a real estate investor, the people reading your business plan may want to know who’s in charge. Make sure you leave no stone unturned.

5. Services Or Products

What are you selling? How will it benefit your customers? This is the part of your real estate business plan where you provide information on your product or service, including its benefits over competitors. In essence, it will offer a description of your product/service, details on its life cycle, information on intellectual property, as well as research and development activities, which could include future R&D activities and efforts. Since real estate investment is more of a service, beginner investors must identify why their service is better than others in the industry. It could include experience.

6. Marketing Strategy

A marketing strategy will generally encompass how a business owner intends to market or sell their product and service. This includes a market penetration strategy, a plan for future growth, distribution channels, and a comprehensive communication strategy. When creating a marketing strategy for a real estate business plan, investors should think about how they plan to identify and contact new leads. They should then think about the various communication options: social media, direct mail, a company website, etc. Your business plan’s marketing portion should essentially cover the practical steps of operating and growing your business.

Additional Real Estate Business Plan Tips

A successful business plan is no impossible to create; however, it will take time to get it right. Here are a few extra tips to keep in mind as you develop a plan for your real estate investing business:

Tailor Your Executive Summary To Different Audiences: An executive summary will open your business plan and introduce the company. Though the bulk of your business plan will remain consistent, the executive summary should be tailored to the specific audience at hand. A business plan is not only for you but potential investors, lenders, and clients. Keep your intended audience in mind when drafting the executive summary and answer any potential questions they may have.

Articulate What You Want: Too often, investors working on their business plan will hide what they are looking for, whether it be funding or a joint venture. Do not bury the lede when trying to get your point across. Be clear about your goals up front in a business plan, and get your point across early.

Prove You Know The Market: When you write the company description, it is crucial to include information about your market area. This could include average sale prices, median income, vacancy rates, and more. If you intend to acquire rental properties, you may even want to go a step further and answer questions about new developments and housing trends. Show that you have your finger on the pulse of a market, and your business plan will be much more compelling for those who read it.

Do Homework On The Competition: Many real estate business plans fail to fully analyze the competition. This may be partly because it can be difficult to see what your competitors are doing, unlike a business with tangible products. While you won’t get a tour of a competitor’s company, you can play prospect and see what they offer. Subscribe to their newsletter, check out their website, or visit their open house. Getting a first-hand look at what others are doing in your market can greatly help create a business plan.

Be Realistic With Your Operations & Management: It can be easy to overestimate your projections when creating a business plan, specifically when it comes to the organization and management section. Some investors will claim they do everything themselves, while others predict hiring a much larger team than they do. It is important to really think through how your business will operate regularly. When writing your business plan, be realistic about what needs to be done and who will be doing it.

Create Example Deals: At this point, investors will want to find a way to illustrate their plans moving forward. Literally or figuratively, illustrate the steps involved in future deals: purchases, cash flow, appreciation, sales, trades, 1031 exchanges, cash-on-cash return, and more. Doing so should give investors a good idea of what their deals will look like in the future. While it’s not guaranteed to happen, envisioning things has a way of making them easier in the future.

Schedule Business Update Sessions: Your real estate business plan is not an ironclad document that you complete and then never look at again. It’s an evolving outline that should continually be reviewed and tweaked. One good technique is to schedule regular review sessions to go over your business plan. Look for ways to improve and streamline your business plan so it’s as clear and persuasive as you want it to be.

Reevauating Your Real Estate Business Plan

A business plan will serve as a guide for every decision you make in your company, which is exactly why it should be reevaluated regularly. It is recommended to reassess your business plan each year to account for growth and changes. This will allow you to update your business goals, accounting books, and organizational structures. While you want to avoid changing things like your logo or branding too frequently, it can be helpful to update department budgets or business procedures each year.

The size of your business is crucial to keep in mind as you reevaluate annually. Not only in terms of employees and management structures but also in terms of marketing plans and business activities. Always incorporate new expenses and income into your business plan to help ensure you make the most of your resources. This will help your business stay on an upward trajectory over time and allow you to stay focused on your end goals.

Above all else, a  real estate development business plan will be inspiring and informative. It should reveal why your business is more than just a dream and include actionable steps to make your vision a reality. No matter where you are with your investing career, a detailed business plan can guide your future in more ways than one. After all, a thorough plan will anticipate the best path to success. Follow the template above as you plan your real estate business, and make sure it’s a good one.

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Blog Business 5 Real Estate Business Plan Examples & How to Create One?

5 Real Estate Business Plan Examples & How to Create One?

Written by: Danesh Ramuthi Nov 28, 2023

Crafting a business plan is essential for any business and the real estate sector is no exception. In real estate, a comprehensive business plan serves as a roadmap, delineating a clear path towards business growth. 

It guides owners, agents and brokers through various critical aspects such as identifying target markets, devising effective marketing strategies, planning finances and managing client relationships.

For real estate businesses, a well-written plan is crucial in attracting potential investors, showcasing the company’s mission statement, business model and long-term income goals.

So, how can you write one?

Leveraging tools like Venngage Business Plan Make r with their Business Plan Templates to create your own real estate business plan can be transformative.

They offer a lot of real estate business plan examples and templates, streamlining the process of crafting a comprehensive plan.

Click to jump ahead: 

• 5 real estate business plan examples

How to write a real estate business plan?

• Wrapping Up

5 Real estate business plan examples

As I have said before, a well-crafted business plan is a key to success. Whether you’re a seasoned agent or just starting out, examples of effective real estate business plans can offer invaluable insights.

These examples showcase a range of strategies and approaches tailored to various aspects of the real estate market. They serve as guides to structuring a plan that addresses key components like market analysis, marketing strategies, financial planning and client management, ensuring a solid foundation for any real estate venture.

Real estate business plan example

There are various elements in a real estate business plan that must be integrated. Incorporating these elements into a real estate business plan ensures a comprehensive approach to launching and growing a successful real estate business. 

What are they?

• Executive summary: The executive summary is a concise overview of the real estate business plan. It highlights the mission statement, outlines the business goals and provides a snapshot of the overall strategy. 
• Company overview: An overview on the history and structure of the real estate business. It includes the company’s mission and vision statements, information about the founding team and the legal structure of the business. 
• Service: Here, the business plan details the specific services offered by the real estate agency. This could range from residential property sales and leasing to commercial real estate services. The section should clearly articulate how these services meet the needs of the target client and how they stand out from competitors.
• Strategies: A very crucial part of the plan outlines the strategies for achieving business goals. It covers marketing strategies to generate leads, pricing strategies for services, and tactics for effective client relationship management. Strategies for navigating market shifts, identifying key market trends and leveraging online resources for property listings and real estate listing presentations to help with lead generation are also included.
• Financial plan: The financial plan is a comprehensive section detailing the financial projections of the business. It includes income statements, cash flow statements, break-even analysis and financial goals. Besides, a financial plan section also outlines how resources will be allocated to different areas of the business and the approach to managing the financial aspects of the real estate market, such as average sales price and housing market trends.

Read Also: 7 Best Business Plan Software for 2023

Real estate investment business plan example

A real estate investment business plan is a comprehensive blueprint that outlines the goals and strategies of a real estate investment venture. It serves as a roadmap, ensuring that all facets of real estate investment are meticulously considered.

Creating a business plan for real estate investment is a critical step for any investor, regardless of their experience level Typically, these plans span one to five years, offering a detailed strategy for future company objectives and the steps required to achieve them.

Key components:

• Executive summary: Snapshot of the business, outlining its mission statement, target market, and core strategies. It should be compelling enough to attract potential investors and partners.
• Market analysis: A thorough analysis of the real estate market, including current trends, average sales prices and potential market shifts.
• Financial projections: Detailed financial plans, including income statements, cash flow analysis, and break-even analysis.
• Strategy & implementation: Outlines how the business plans to achieve its goals. This includes marketing efforts to generate leads, pricing strategies and client relationship management techniques.
• Legal structure & resource allocation: Details the legal structure of the business and how resources will be allocated across various operations, including property acquisitions, renovations and management.

Real estate agent business plan example

A real estate agent business plan is a strategic document that outlines the operations and goals of a real estate agent or agency. It is a crucial tool for communicating with potential lenders, partners or shareholders about the nature of the business and its potential for profitability.

A well-crafted real estate agent business plan will include

• Where you are today: A clear understanding of your current position in the market, including strengths, weaknesses and market standing.
• Where you aim to be: Sets specific, measurable goals for future growth, whether it’s expanding the client base, entering new markets or increasing sales.
• How can you get there: Outlines the strategies and action plans to achieve these goals, including marketing campaigns, client acquisition strategies and business development initiatives.
• Measuring your performance: Defines the key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to assess progress towards the set goals, such as sales figures, client satisfaction rates and market share.
• Course correction: Establishes a process for regular review and adjustment of the plan, ensuring flexibility to adapt to market changes, shifts in client needs and other external factors.

For real estate agents, a comprehensive business plan is not just a roadmap to success; it is a dynamic tool that keeps them accountable and adaptable to market changes.

Realtor business plan example

A realtor business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines the strategic direction and goals of a real estate business. It’s an essential tool for realtors looking to either launch or expand their business in the competitive real estate market. The plan typically includes details about the company’s mission, objectives, target market and strategies for achieving its goals.

Benefits of a realtor business plan and applications:

• For launching or expanding businesses: The plan helps real estate agents to structure their approach to entering new markets or growing in existing ones, providing a clear path to follow.
• Securing loans and investments: A well-drafted business plan is crucial for securing financing for real estate projects, such as purchasing new properties or renovating existing ones.
• Guideline for goal achievement: The plan serves as a guideline to stay on track with sales and profitability goals, allowing realtors to make informed decisions and adjust strategies as needed.
• Valuable for real estate investors: Investors can use the template to evaluate potential real estate businesses and properties for purchase, ensuring they align with their investment goals.
• Improving business performance: By filling out a realtor business plan template , realtors can gain insights into the strengths and weaknesses of their business, using this information to enhance profitability and operational efficiency.

A realtor business plan is more than just a document; it’s a roadmap for success in the real estate industry. 

Writing a real estate business plan is a comprehensive process that involves several key steps. Here’s a detailed guide to help you craft an effective business plan :

• Tell your story : Start with a self-evaluation. Define who you are as a real estate agent, why you are in this business and what you do. Develop your mission statement, vision statement and an executive summary​​.
• Analyze your target real estate market : Focus on local market trends rather than national or state-wide levels. Examine general trends, market opportunities, saturations, and local competition. This step requires thorough research into the real estate market you plan to operate in​​.
• Identify your target client : After understanding your market, identify the niche you aim to serve and the type of clients you want to target. Create a client persona that reflects their specific needs and concerns​​.
• Conduct a SWOT analysis : Analyze your business’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. This should reflect a combination of personal attributes and external market conditions​​​​.
• Establish your SMART goals : Set specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely goals. These goals could be financial, expansion-related or based on other business metrics​​​​.
• Create your financial plan : Account for all operating expenses, including marketing and lead generation costs. Calculate the number of transactions needed to meet your financial goals. Remember to separate personal and business finances​​.
• Revisit your business plan to monitor & evaluate : Treat your business plan as a living document. Plan periodic reviews (quarterly, semi-annually or annually) to check if your strategies are advancing you toward your goals​​​​.
• Defining your mission & vision : Include a clear mission and vision statement. Describe your business type, location, founding principles and what sets you apart from competitors​​.
• Creating a marketing plan : Develop a marketing plan that addresses the product, price, place and promotion of your services. Determine your pricing strategy, promotional methods and marketing channels​​.
• Forming a team : Ensure the cooperation of colleagues, supervisors and supervisees involved in your plan. Clarify their roles and how their participation will be evaluated​​.

Related: 15+ Business Plan Examples to Win Your Next Round of Funding

Wrapping up

The journey to a successful real estate venture is intricately linked to the quality and depth of your business plan. From understanding the nuances of the real estate market to setting strategic goals, a well-crafted business plan acts as the backbone of any thriving real estate business. Whether you’re developing a general real estate business plan, focusing on investment, working as an agent, or operating as a realtor, each plan type serves its unique purpose and addresses specific aspects of the real estate world.

The examples and insights provided in this article serve as a guide to help you navigate the complexities of the real estate industry. Remember, a real estate business plan is not a static document but a dynamic blueprint that evolves with your business and the ever-changing market trends.

Crafting a strategic real estate business plan is a crucial step towards achieving your business goals. So, start shaping your vision today with Venngage.

Explore venngage business plan maker & our business plan templates and begin your journey to a successful real estate business now!

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• Sample Business Plans
• Real Estate & Rentals

Real Estate Business Plan

People would always need to find places. Be it for offices, homes, and whatnot.

Finding the ideal place irrespective of your needs and requirements is never a cakewalk, to begin with.

You can go through a number of real estates business plan templates before you write your plan.

Industry Overview

The market size, measured by revenue, of the Real Estate Sales and brokerage industry, is $156.2bn in 2021, and the industry is expected to increase by 0.4% in 2021.

Also, the market is changing at a rapid rate and the way people use spaces is changing at a rapid rate too.

Hence, to get on or stay on the higher end of the spectrum you’ll need to upskill and change the way you do business constantly.

But that is a fair trade for the amount of growth and profitability this industry has to offer.

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Things to Consider Before Writing a Real Estate Business Plan

Be specific.

The real estate industry is broad when it comes to work and what you can do. It can either be a source of primary or passive income. At the same time, you might be involved in the industry as an investor, agent, or builder. Decide what you want to do and plan on that basis.

Do your research

The trends of the real estate business change constantly, hence doing your research and updating it constantly is a crucial part of your profession.

As your knowledge and expertise is your greatest asset in this industry, keep expanding it to stay at the top of things.

Build a team of skilled professionals

Having a team you can build your real estate business with is essential.

Select a group of individuals with a diverse set of talents ranging from good communication skills to brilliant analytical skills. Given the dynamics of the real estate business, you never know what skills might come in handy in your business journey.

Be ready for change

As we have constantly discussed, real estate is a dynamic industry. Change is the only constant you’ll have in this business.

Thus, it is important for everything from your plan and way of doing business to be change-friendly.

Sources of Funding for a Real Estate Business

Gaining funds is one of the major reasons for writing a business plan. And here are a few good funding options for your real estate business:

A traditional loan is one of the most basic options for getting funded. You can opt for this if you have a good credit score.

Non-bank mortgage lending

This is a good option if you don’t want to go through a lot of paperwork.

The asset-based mortgage

For this, the lenders look at the rental value of your property and provide a loan on that basis. It is a good option if you don’t want or can’t get a loan based on your personal assets or income.

Above all, it is essential to plan your business to figure out your funding requirements and the right way to fulfill the same.

Write Your Business Plan

If you have enough connections, and the ability to find places for people that have attributes they want and need then a real estate business can be a profitable one for you.

A business plan helps you get funded, explain your ideas to the stakeholders of your business, and make better decisions.

Hence, planning is an important aspect of starting or growing your business.

It has been created using Upmetrics online business plan software that helps you create dynamic and customizable plans anywhere and at any time.

Our sample real estate business plan can help you with writing a well-rounded business plan for your business. It can act as a guide and prevent you from getting stuck in a certain section for too long.

Real Estate Business Plan Outline

This is the standard real estate business plan outline which will cover all important sections that you should include in your business plan.

• Market Opportunity
• Demand for Housing
• Financing & Investment Forecast
• Introducing Kegan
• Business Model
• Short Term Goals
• Long Term Strategies
• Keys to Success
• Contemporary Living for the 21″ Century
• The Complete Package
• Pricing Strategy
• Implementation Strategy – Action Plan
• Target Market Overview
• Housing Shortage Overview in Saudi Arabia
• Housing Shortage Overview in Riyadh
• Housing Prices
• Kegan Home Prices
• Market Positioning & Brand
• Marketing Strategies
• Sales Strategies
• Sales Process
• Competitive Landscape
• Competitive Advantages
• Rashid Bin Said
• Director of Construction
• Member name
• Chief Accountant
• Director of Marketing & Sales
• Other Staff
• Independent Directors
• Solid Balance Sheet
• Impressive Cashflow
• Financial Summary
• Financial Assumptions
• Income Statement (Five-Year Projections)
• Balance Sheet (Five-Year Projections)
• Cash Flow Statement (Five-Year Projection)

After getting started with Upmetrics , you can copy this sample real estate business plan into your business plan and modify the required information and download your real estate business plan pdf or doc file.

It’s the fastest and easiest way to start writing your business plan.

The Quickest Way to turn a Business Idea into a Business Plan

Fill-in-the-blanks and automatic financials make it easy.

Download a sample real estate business plan

Need help writing your business plan from scratch? Here you go;  download our free real estate business plan pdf  to start.

It’s a modern business plan template specifically designed for your real estate business. Use the example business plan as a guide for writing your own.

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Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Real Estate Business Plan Examples

Home » Services » Business Plan Consulting » Business Plan Examples » Real Estate

Several of our real estate clients have graciously provided permission for us to share their plans with you. A professional real estate business plan is an important step towards building a business in this challenging industry. Here are two real estate business plan samples created by Cayenne Consulting:

Baxter Development Company

This plan is an example of what we can create when visual impact is a top priority.

Jolly Roger Storage

This plan is a sample a business plan for a large self-storage facility in need of debt financing.

Daari Real Estate

This plan is an example of what we will produce for a real estate client seeking a moderate amount of debt financing.

How to Create a Commercial Real Estate Business Plan

My step-by-step blueprint for success.

By Lee Muhl

Cayenne maintains a very active practice in real estate business plans – including funds and development plans for commercial, residential, and agricultural uses, along with many specialty projects aimed at mixed-use, live-work, hospitality, medical, entertainment centers, smart/sustainable developments, and others. Also created for our clients are detailed “ capital stacks ,” including debt, equity, “impact/cause funding” along with consideration of public investment, grants, and special tax opportunities.

Cayenne’s practice in real estate is broad, but commercial real estate (CRE) makes up a large portion of Cayenne’s real estate consulting services to developers, sponsors, owners, contractors, and vendors.

While each client project is unique and is accorded special consideration and treatment, there are some important issues that arise in many commercial real estate business plan projects.

This post will mention a few of the types of issues that owners, developers, sponsors, or other stakeholders in commercial real estate might take into consideration when you create a commercial real estate business plan.

Keep it Exciting, Simple, and Digestible

While any commercial real estate project will have many details, it’s important to create a compelling, simple, and understandable story.

Who is the audience for the business plan? Funders come in every shape and color. On the debt side, there are direct lenders, traditional banks, convertible debt lenders, etc. On the equity side, real estate investors range from family offices to angels, to angel funds, to private investors who may be HNW (high net worth) or to F&F (friends and family) investing from a self-directed IRA. Your business plan will differ depending on what types of funders are going to see it.

On that note, it’s always a good idea to include two things: (i) a simple Guidance and Disclaimer that the business plan is for funder/stakeholder information and not a securities offering; and (ii) a Glossary of commercial real estate terms which not only helps the reader, but reinforces the reader’s impression that the project’s team is expert in commercial real estate concepts. By way of example, while a funder might be very familiar with IRR (internal rate of return), he/she/it might not be as conversant with terms like CRA (Community Reinvestment Act), FAR/Bonus FAR (Floor Area Ratio/Bonus Floor Area Ratio), flex (multi-use) space, MSA/CSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area/Combined Statistical Area) or New Market Tax Credits. A good business plan helps educate the reader on these items.

Text, Deck, Financials, Artwork, or All?

A commercial real estate business plan can be scribbles on a napkin, 120 pages of text, a 10-slide deck, or a 50-slide beautifully illustrated digital presentation . For example, if the format you want is a presentation deck, it’s good to decide in advance approximately how long it should be, what type of content, and what type of visual look you desire. Should it be page after page of charts and colored shapes, or should it be a nice, illustrated presentation of your concept and market?

For sizable commercial real estate business projects, multiple documents may be needed, that can range from, and include one or all of, Financial Book, Market Study, Business Plan, Deck, FAQs (frequently asked questions), Term Sheets, LOIs (letters of intent), Plats, Renderings, GC (general contractor) bids, 3D imagery, and so on. Much of the time, the whole menu isn’t needed up-front, but many, or all, could come into play before the project reaches completion.

Bottom line, there isn’t a “one size fits all” in commercial real estate business plans. So, before you opt for a Do-It-Yourself template, it’s always good to take a hard look at the actual Scope of Work, identify your end goals, the detailed stages that your business plan and fundings may proceed through, and in what order.

What’s the Simple Story?

Whatever the project is, there should be a way to encapsulate it in one or two sentences.

The idea is not to dumb it down, but to be able to say simply to any funder or stakeholder – here is what it is. The right one sentence can then beckon an audience to longer discussions of the concept.

What’s The Opportunity in the Market?

One key goal is to present to a potential funder or stakeholder the fundamental issue of how valuable the concept can be.

Sometimes this is obvious. Sometimes it isn’t, or it won’t be to your audience, so you will need a clear statement of how much money your company stands to make out of the target market. Far too many entrepreneurs, plans, and providers opt for high-level online overviews that say things like “The 2021 global market in multi-use commercial real estate is $__ billion and CAGR (cumulative annual growth rate) of 21% is expected over the next 5 years.” Those are positive statistics, but they don’t say anything about your project’s potential.

Rather, the core issue to include in your plan is – how much of that global market are you going to grab with your business model? And then prove it with defendable numbers.

Another great addition is a section on “market drivers” which can include concepts such as reduced risk, effective land use, limited competition in the area, a captive tenant base, portfolio diversification, diversity of tenants (e.g., in a multi-use project that combines retail, hospitality, and housing), convenience, and demographic appeal.

Who’s the Visionary/Sponsor/Developer and Who’s on the Team?

One thing we see again and again is that, after all the numbers are crunched, the i’s dotted and the t’s crossed, a funding decision comes down to this: does your funding audience have confidence that you and your team will execute on your commercial real estate business plan? A great team, with a great track record, helps get you past this speedbump, and you should try to include fairly detailed bios of the team showing experience, time in the commercial real estate industry, former companies, former titles and responsibilities, and educational background.

Another plus in this part of the story is a tight, powerful listing of key goals that the team has already accomplished, and a projection of what the next several years will bring.

The Business Model

It’s easy to look at commercial real estate as a familiar concept without a lot of new ideas. But there are many special aspects that a specific project can point to, such as: (i) the market niche is hot at the moment; (ii) planned diversification across regions, cities, and neighborhoods, or (iii) that the project arose from the owner/developer’s “nine-point” project evaluation set of criteria that profile the area, amenities, transportation, funding benefits, target project size and typical time to completion, occupancy rates in the area, expected hold until stabilization, and liquidity solutions available for funders.

Innovations and Success Drivers in the Business Model

While real estate is one of the oldest industries in the world, it is constantly changing in exciting ways. If your project is a multi-family development, why is it different – and hopefully better – than the apartment complex across the street? What are the “success drivers”? Is it better-constructed, greener, smarter, more sustainable, technology-enhanced, more likely to hold value, better designed, more attractive, or in an area with public funding or tax benefits available, etc.? One concept that is increasingly dominant in commercial real estate business plans is presenting amenities. What special amenities separate your development from the rest of the neighborhood?

Another consideration is the huge upsurge in “cause-related,” “social benefit,” or “impact” investing. If your project is designed to provide some real social benefit , it is great to flag this for funders and stakeholders. It can also open up new funding opportunities with CRE investors/funders who are seeking, or are required to seek, social benefit in their portfolios.

What is the Funding Opportunity?

Your commercial real estate business plan should explain how much funding is needed, and in detail, what it will be used for – e.g., development, acquisition, construction, construction take-out, and limited-term senior debt.

In commercial real estate, a presentation of the capital stack is critical, and it is often quite detailed. For example, the project’s capital stack might involve a combination of senior secured debt, additional subordinate debt, and equity financing, as well as grants and tax credits, in accordance with local community development, economic development, and workforce development interests in the municipality, plus tax incentive programs related to Historical Structures, New Markets, Low Income Housing, Opportunity Zones, and Business Improvement Districts.

Building Your Commercial Real Estate Financial Model

While simplicity in telling the story is always important, your financial model could often present a laundry list of benefits. You might point to five to seven different ways that the funding model uses leverage; or you might point to abundant collateralization, or to regulatory benefits such as CRA ( Community Reinvestment Act ) portfolio points, or to tax benefits for investing in an Opportunity Zone , or to the simple point that commercial real estate is, traditionally, a very safe investment, that goes up with inflation and, as a hard asset, it will always maintain some level of value and worth.

For prospective stakeholders, projected yield, MOIC (multiple on invested cash), IRR, and any special liquidity solutions are great to mention. At the end of the day, one point can always be made – commercial real estate is the type of investment that is safer than most, can provide steady income, and offers special financial protections from property value, lease payments, and, often, government incentives.

If the plan is for a commercial real estate fund, it’s always good to identify the special nature and characteristics of the fund, e.g., the fund might be a closed-end, leveraged, managed distribution fund that will only invest in certain types of assets, with certain target capitalization rates (a measure of how risky commercial real estate investment is).

The Property

It’s always good to have a section in the Plan that speaks to the property, or to possible properties that may be selected. This can be exemplified with photos, maps, renderings, drawings, plats, descriptions of the property, amenities, and the locale – in short, a part of the Plan that brings the concept to life – a moment of punctuation that delivers a moment of “Wow, there it is, that’s where the project will be built.”

Competitive Differentiation

A key question is always “how do the project and the funding opportunity stand apart from other developers and profit-seekers that focus on similar property investments?”

What helps here is to identify why the developer/sponsor/owner has a plan for development that is innovative, data-driven, and fueled by ground-level experience.

Another concept that helps here is to identify strategies for enhancing the value in the property/project, or, if applicable, in the portfolio.

Writing Your Commercial Real Estate Business Plan

Now that you’ve thought through all these issues, get ready to craft your commercial real estate business plan that features all the essential sections including: the business plan’s Highlights (a powerful type of Executive Summary), Introduction, the Company, Management, the Market, the Property, the Funding Opportunity, the Financial Strategy, and how you are different from, and better prepared for success than, the Competition. The business plan samples above should prove helpful.

If this all of this sounds overwhelming and you would like help preparing your commercial real estate business plan, contact us and we would be happy to help.

More Resources

• See more business plan examples .
• Learn more about our business plan preparation services .
• Learn more about our construction and real estate business planning experience .
• Read testimonials by our construction and real estate clients .

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Building a Solid Foundation: How to Create a Real Estate Business Plan That Works

A killer real estate business plan isn't just about setting a goal to hit 1 million in sales next year. (It would be a lot easier if it were!) 

A truly great real estate business plan defines exactly what drives your business, where you're headed, and how you'll navigate the market's unpredictable currents. It should be a razor-sharp action plan to scale your real estate empire. 

So, how do you craft this master blueprint without getting bogged down in the details? 

If you’re ready to join the cast of Million Dollar Listings—or if you just want to grow your modest real estate business—we can help.   

We’re going to break down how to create an actionable real estate business plan in just six steps. Your future self, with a thriving real estate portfolio, will thank you. 

What Should a Real Estate Business Plan Include?

A real estate business plan is a comprehensive document designed to help you navigate the ups and downs of the real estate industry and plan for long-term growth. 

TL:DR: A great business plan serves as a complete roadmap to help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. 

So, what should your real estate business plan include? The best plans include these eight sections: 

• Executive Summary: A concise introduction to your real estate venture. Highlight your primary goals, the niche you're targeting, and your unique value proposition in the real estate market.
• Business Description: Discuss the scope of your real estate operations—whether you're focusing on residential sales, commercial properties, rentals, or a mix. Also, mention the regions or neighborhoods you're targeting.
• Market Analysis: Delve into housing trends, regional property demand, and average property values in your selected areas. Study growth patterns and forecast potential shifts in the market.
• Marketing and Sales Strategies: Explain how you'll attract listings and buyers. This might include leveraging MLS, hosting open houses, using digital marketing tactics, or networking at community events.
• Service Offerings: Detail the range of services you plan to offer. This could include buying/selling, property management, consultation, or even staging homes for sale.
• Organizational Structure and Management: As a solo realtor, this might be about your role and responsibilities. If you have or plan to have a team or build a brokerage, describe team member roles, responsibilities, and expertise.
• Financial Projections and Strategy: Outline anticipated earnings from property sales or rentals, operational expenses, and commissions. Factor in marketing costs, licensing fees, and other industry-specific expenses.
• Growth Plan: Since real estate is as much about scaling and expansion as it is about individual sales, describe how you plan to grow—by expanding into new areas and niches, or by adding more agents to your team.

Keep in mind—these sections are suggested, not required. If some of these sections don’t make sense for your business, feel free to drop them. Maybe you want to add something else? If you’re not sure where the heck to start—that’s where this list comes in handy. 

Why Do I Need a Real Estate Business Plan?

Honestly—you don’t have to have a business plan. If you’re feeling good about your business and happy with your growth, feel free to click away. But, if you’re not closing as many deals as you’d like or if you’re just not feeling great about your business’s direction, you might want to stick around. 

In addition to increasing your sales, an effective business plan can help you: 

• Gain a Competitive Advantage : The world is full of real estate professionals. To succeed in this industry, you need an edge. A real estate business plan gives you an advantage in the market because so few competitors will create one. You'll know the exact steps to take to grow your business. Case in point: a well-crafted business plan can boost your chances of success by 12 percent .
• Mitigate Risk: Every new business venture is a risky proposition. Back in 1994, nobody thought Jeff Bezos could sell books online. Now, Amazon is one of the biggest companies in the world, and Mr. Bezos has a cool net worth in the $150 billion range. While your real estate business plan might not help you hit the billion-dollar range, it will help you mitigate risk by helping you identify potential threats and weaknesses.  
• Gain a Deeper Understanding of Analytics: Drowning in data? A great business plan will outline your goals and campaigns, and help you track the metrics that really matter. You can look at your plan in a year and assess your progress toward your goals, and adjust your approach accordingly. This will help you eliminate poor tactics or destructive behaviors and double down on what works for your business.

A business real estate plan also gives you something to celebrate. When you hit the milestones in your plan, reward yourself with a fancy dinner or pop open a bottle of champagne. Treat yo’self. Then get back to selling! 

6 Steps to Create an Effective Real Estate Business Plan Fast 

Now you know what your real estate business plan should include and why they matter. Cool. Now it's time to actually create that killer plan that will help your business grow. Ready? Follow these step-by-step instructions to create a proven plan of action you can use to grow your business.

1. Start With Your Story

Who are you as a real estate professional? Are you a master of landing the right deal? Love helping families find their forever home? 

All good business plans start with a story that explains who the individual or company in question is, what they do, and the business goals they want to achieve.

To accomplish this, make sure your business plan includes:

• An executive summary: A sentence or two that summarizes what your business does.

Example: "I sell homes to middle-income buyers in the greater Denver area."

• Your mission statement: A few sentences that explain why you do what you do.

Example: "At Smith Real Estate Group, we strive to provide our clients with amazing experiences they'll remember for the rest of their lives. Buying a home is a monumental responsibility. Our goal is to make the process simple, fun, and stress-free for our clients so they're delighted with their purchases."

• Your vision for your business: A couple of sentences that illustrate what the world will look like once you've achieved your mission. 

Example: "Eventually, I want to be the most trusted name in Boise real estate, effectively serving a range of clients who come to me to get the highest possible price for their homes."

• The SMART goals you want to achieve: The individual objectives you'll work to accomplish, i.e., "Sell 15 homes next year," or "Make $150,000 annual salary." Remember, the best goals are SMART, which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. 

Example: "I'll start making $150k a year (or more) within 36 months. To accomplish this, I'll invest in new marketing techniques to promote my services so I can sell 15+ homes every year."

2. Research Your Target Market

Which area of the real estate market do you specialize in? Do you sell high end luxury condos? Help businesses find the right place to expand? Maybe you’re all about helping folks find tiny homes. 

To answer this question, I suggest a fair bit of research—especially if you're brand new and don't have an established client base. Look for sections of the market that are growing and ones that are slowing down.

It's important to look at data for the location you’re serving . Nation-wide trends are useful to a point. But you really need to know what's happening in your corner of the world.

Also, research your city's other agents, brokerages, etc., as you'll compete with them for potential clients. The more you know about them, the easier it will be to differentiate yourself and achieve your short and long-term goals in the real estate industry.

3. Identify Your Ideal Clientele

Now it's time to zero in on the specific people you sell to.

There are plenty of options. You could be a condo specialist and only engage new leads who want to buy condos in your area. Or focus on real estate listings for new home buyers. Or work in the top end of the market and help wealthy individuals settle into their second homes. You do you. 

The specific demographic you choose to serve should depend on the local market, your unique skill set, and your passions. Find a balance between these three things.

When you know your ideal clientele, take a moment to define buyer personas .

Not familiar with the term? Don’t worry—it's not as weird as it sounds. A buyer persona is a fictional person you invent to represent your real-world target market. Feel free to get weird with it—your persona could be Fred the Family Man, or Suzy the Soup Maker. Just be sure to include personal details, such as goals and pain points to make it useful. 

While it may seem silly, a buyer persona keeps you focused on your ideal clientele so you can ensure your marketing efforts always match the people who want to help. 

4. Perform a SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis helps you pinpoint your strengths and weaknesses and find the opportunities and threats in your chosen real estate market. Think of it like a battle plan to help you conquer your real estate market. Here's a quick example:

• Strengths: Maybe you have amazing people skills, so you host open houses for your clients on a regular basis. This helps you meet potential buyers and sell clients' homes. It also acts as a terrific lead generation strategy . Or, maybe you’re really, really good at staging older homes. 
• Weaknesses: Maybe you hate social media, so you never use platforms like Facebook and Instagram—even though other agents use them to close deals . This would be a weakness, but it doesn’t mean you need to change things. Instead, acknowledge it and adjust your strategy accordingly. 
• Opportunities: If most of the real estate professionals in your town focus on low- to mid-priced real estate listings, you could target the small collection of luxury buyers in the area.
• Threats: Are there a ton of other real estate agents in your area? Maybe a nationwide brokerage is opening a new office and threatening to take your knees out with a bat. (Who knew real estate could be so brutal!) The point is: being aware of threats helps you target your services effectively so you can become a real player in the game. 

5. Set a Clear Marketing Strategy

You might run the best real estate brokerage in the United States. But if nobody knows about your real estate team's supreme skill set, you’re not likely to make many sales. Which won’t be an issue if you’re running a mob front—but if you actually want to make a profit, marketing is crucial. 

Fortunately, you've defined your target market, ideal clientele, and personal strengths and weaknesses. So, building an effective marketing strategy should be easy. 

Think about your target audience: how can you reach these people? Social media is probably your best bet if you serve young, first-time homebuyers. If you serve an older, more affluent crowd, in-person meetups and cold-calling techniques might be a good option.

Consider your competitors, too. What channels do they use to connect with new leads? Use another approach to differentiate your services better.

Finally, take a hard look at your abilities. Just because a marketing plan works for one person or company doesn't mean it will work for yours. Since you're building your business, you need to assess your strengths and weaknesses. This will help you implement strategies that suit your skills and disposition.  

6. Make a Financial Plan

Yes, we gotta talk about money. Adding financial details to your real estate business plan gives you a strong starting point to drive growth. 

How much will you spend on licensing, lead generation, and a real estate CRM ? Remember to budget for everyday expenses while working, like gasoline for your car and meals while traveling. (Just no two martini lunches!) 

You should also include the amount of money you want to make after expenses and taxes and the number of deals you'll need to close to make the numbers work together.

Most people shy away from their finances. Don’t make this mistake. You need to know what your operating expenses are to know what your cash flow is. If you don't know that, you won't know if you're on track to reach your short-term or long-term goals.

One more thing: make sure your financial plan is realistic . Dreaming of million-dollar closings might feel nice, but those numbers won't help you. Do your research and input proper cost estimates. 

3 Tips to Create a Real Estate Business Plan That’s Actually Useful 

BOOM! Now, you know how to create a business plan for your real estate business. Go you. But to make sure your plan is top-notch, keep these three best practices in mind:

KISS: Keep it Super Simple

It’s easy to get lost in the weeds and wind up overwhelmed. Don't overcomplicate the process.

Your real estate business plan doesn't need to be professionally designed unless it’s being shared with business partners or investors. You can write it in Word on your laptop computer. Or scribble it on a napkin while you sip a cocktail at the bar. Whatever feels good to you. 

The most important thing is that you actually create a plan for your real estate business . The way it looks is less crucial. Don't get caught up in the details. 

Differentiate Yourself

What makes you special? No, not just in the “My mom says I'm special!” way. Like, what really makes you stand out from the other real estate agents and brokers in your local area?

Ask yourself questions like " What can I do better than everybody else?", “Why would clients want to work with me over another agent?” or "What am I willing to do that my competitors aren't?"

Did you come up with a few things? Good, now add them to your real estate business plan.

Being average is boring—so figure out where you stand out. Then, infuse it into every aspect of your business, from your website to how you engage with clients. That way, people know what sets you apart.

Revisit Your Plan Regularly

One more thing: your real estate business plan should be a living document. In other words, you should revisit it regularly to make sure it's actually benefiting your business.

Did you choose the right market? Are you serving the right clientele? Is your marketing plan actually working? Assess your business quarterly to see what's working and what isn't. Then use the takeaways to adjust your approach. That way, you can “always be closing” more deals. 

Pro tip: when starting out, use a business plan template . This gives you a starting point and makes it easy to edit your plans at any point. 

Level Up Your Real Estate Business 

If you want to build a successful real estate business, you need a plan. Luckily, you’ve already got one. 

Once you create your plan, you'll have a clear vision you can implement systematically to grow your business faster.  

Know what else will help you succeed in this industry? A solid CRM software with proven contact management, cold calling, email marketing, and sales reporting features.

Sound good? Give Close a try. We make it super easy to track leads, follow up with prospects, generate referrals, and turbocharge your real estate business.

Sign up for a free 14-day trial today to experience the power of Close!

START YOUR FREE 14-DAY TRIAL→

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10-step checklist for writing a 2023 real estate business plan

If you're a real estate agent planning on opening a real estate company, you need a business planning lesson. Every successful business operates off a template defining its operations and goals. Your real estate business plan is the founding document of your organization, and every new business owner must take the time to plan their venture.

If it's your first time writing a business plan, you probably have mixed feelings of excitement and frustration. It's a thrilling experience to bring all the elements of your new company into realization, but it's upsetting when you realize you don't know what you're doing.

Writing a business plan helps to show you the flaws in your business skillset. You might be a marketing genius, but you have no idea how to manage operations cash flow. Similarly, you could have excellent administration skills but know nothing about marketing.

Writing out your business plan shows you where you need assistance. You identify areas where you're weak and build a strong team around you to support the places you need help. In this post, we'll unpack a 10-step checklist for writing your first real estate business plan.

Step 1 – Define your real estate business

The first step in writing your real estate business plan is understanding your limitations and strengths as a real estate broker and a business owner. Do you know what you want to achieve with your business? Your real estate brokerage needs defined goals and targets to chase, or your organization has no purpose.

Every small business relies on a team. The team you select needs to complement your strengths and weaknesses. Use this stage of your plan to define the organizational roles of each team member. Identify their skillsets and what they bring to your company.

Real estate brokerages need to understand the type of business you want to run and the personality types of the agents you wish to attract to your company. As the firm's founding partner, you get to decide who you want to add to your team.

After identifying the team, and each member's roles, it's time to work on your mission statement and executive summary.

An executive summary defines the aspects of your business plan and what you want to achieve with your business outcomes. It also describes the culture of the firm and your values.

The mission statement clarifies the purpose of your business and what you're trying to achieve. It also mentions how you intend to get to those goals. We recommend writing out both your mission statement and executive summary and revisiting them after completing your business plan.

In the initial planning stage, wiring out your mission statement and executive summary helps you clear the cobwebs and focus on the task at hand. However, when revisiting your mission statement and executive summary at the end, you might find you left something out or want to make a change to clarify your business directives.

After you have an understanding of your business, it's time to work on your goals.

Establishing your business goals is the most crucial part of the planning process. Your real estate business plan needs clear and defined goals for growth, sales, finances, marketing, and every aspect of your business.

Each section, like finance, for example, drills down into sub-goals for each category. For instance, your financial goals should feature an overall sales target for the year. However, there should be sub-goals in each section for monthly sales targets, and you can break that down into a different sub-category with targets for individual agents.

The idea of goal setting is to set achievable business goals with measurable results. You'll have both short term and long-term goals attributed to each of your business functions. Here are some examples of measurable goals you can use in your planning process.

• How many transactions do you want your company to do each week, month, year?
• How many leads do you need to capture in a day, week, month, or year?
• How many new agents do you want to work on your team?
• What's your earnings goal for the year?
• What do you want to achieve with your brand?

All these questions are vital to setting targets for your business. Without goals, you're like a car rolling down the hill with no engine. You'll hurtle down the hill at first, but when you reach the bottom, and the momentum dies out, you have no engine to pull you along. It's the same with your business planning and goal setting. If you don't have goals, you have no targets, and you'll run out of enthusiasm in a few months when the momentum in your company starts to fade.

Step 2 – Identify your target market

The first stage of the planning process involves structuring your company and defining your business goals and purpose. The second step of building your real estate agent business plan consists of understanding your target market.

What market are you operating in with your business? Do you want to sell luxury homes? Or are you looking at specializing in selling single-family units or condos? Specialization is a popular strategy for real estate firms, giving you the chance to build a reputation in a specific market segment.

Take your time identifying your target market, and dig into the MLS listings to determine which areas offer you the best return. As a real estate agency, you'll have to specialize in a specific region and build your reputation in that area.

Look for the following metrics when examining potential markets.

• What is the average price of properties in the area?
• How many days do they stay on the market?
• What is the average listing commission?
• What is the average pricing trend for properties in a prospective market?
• How many new listings come up in your target market each week, month, or year?
• How does the data compare month-on-month and year-on-year?

Step 3 – Complete a competitive analysis

All business owners need to understand the competitive landscape. The real estate industry has thousands of operators, and there are probably dozens of firms in your local area. Understanding the performance and structure of your competitors allows you to uncover the most successful firms.

When you identify the leaders, you can model what they're doing right and bring it into your real estate business plan. Check out your competitor's websites and review their social media accounts to gain insight into their marketing strategy and operations.

Who are the realtors that have the most industry clout in your area? Who are the leading firms, and what makes them stand out? Ask yourself these questions and unpack the top real estate firms' characteristics and components in your local area.

Step 4 – What services are you offering?

Real estate is a massive industry, and there are dozens of sub-industries within the real estate market. You need to understand your business model, specializing in a specific segment of the market. For instance, do you want to sell single-family homes to first-time homebuyers? Are you looking at providing commercial leases? Maybe you want to build a rental portfolio?

Spreading yourself thin across too many markets results in a lack of focus and direction. Startups will do better if they identify a profitable market and specialize in servicing that specific niche. Identify the areas with the biggest opportunities, and set up your services to cater to those areas.

Step 5 – Identify customer personas

Without accurately defined customer personas, you diminish your marketing efforts and prospecting outcomes. Understanding your customer profile and persona in the real estate market is essential to formulating your marketing strategy.

Your customer persona needs to describe demographic elements like average age, income, occupation, and other defying criteria that help you nail down your ideal customer. If you're a brokerage or realtor offering multiple services like sales and rentals, make sure you identify customer personas in each category.

You can further drill-down on your personas by identifying demographics in clients that buy luxury homes, single-family units, apartments, and condos.

Understanding your client persona gives you a better direction for your marketing strategy. For example, if you specialize in selling apartments to young professionals under 30, you're going to need to advertise through social media. Mediums like outdoor and print bring you less ROI on your advertising dollars.

Step 6 – Complete a SWOT analysis

Completing a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) is an essential component of real estate business plan templates. In this analysis, you unpack everything you know about the strengths and weaknesses in yourself, your company structure, and your team.

Think of the SWOT analysis as a basic summary of everything you've done with your real estate business planning so far. Combine the know your learning during the exercise with what you know about your working habits and personality characteristics.

For instance, you might be a champ in closing deals, but your prospecting skills are weak. That's an example of identifying your limitations and performance parameters.

Maybe there is no real estate brokerage in your area that catering specifically to millennial first-time homebuyers? That's an example of a market opportunity your business can fill.

Perhaps your target market involves new construction, and industry news states that there's a big strike happening at the end of next month. That's an example of a threat facing your business. Revisit your SWOT analysis every quarter to see if you can identify any new developments to add to your business plan.

Step 7 – Build a marketing plan

Now we get into the serious stuff with the development of your marketing strategy. Marketing is the single-most-important function of your business. The purpose of marketing is to drive new real estate leads to your business, allowing you to convert them into customers.

Your marketing strategy needs to focus on the things you learned when completing your customer persona. Where are you going to get the best bang for your marketing buck? Real estate marketing is a competitive space, and you need to make every dollar in your budget count.

Your marketing plan needs to include your online and offline strategy development. Your online strategy is the most important, and you'll need to build a website to promote your company and your listings. Social media marketing, referrals, brand building, sales funnels, and lead generation are essential online marketing strategies you need to succeed in your business.

Today, all your customers are online, and you need to market where your audience is hanging out. Most of them are on social media. Therefore, you'll need a social media marketing expert on your team to develop and direct your social strategy across all platforms.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software is another critical component of your business that integrates with your company's function. The CRM helps you manage clients, your sales funnels, and your marketing efforts through one dedicated platform.

You'll need to hire a marketing team to help you develop and implement your marketing strategy and CRM. Experts create a dedicated online marketing plan that includes all team members.

Your marketing plan is the foundation of your business plan. Investors will want to know your strategy and the results you expect to implement in your target market.

Related: 20 easy real estate marketing ideas to grow your agency

Step 8 – Complete your financial plan

Your financial plan is crucial if you intend to seek investment for your company. Whether you're dealing with private angel investors or the bank, they want to see your financials and sales projections to complete due diligence on loans.

If they decide to loan your money, they need to know when they can expect you to return the money and the ROI you offer on the deal.

You'll need to include information like your commission pricing and average commissions, your sales forecasts for three years, and cash flow projections. When completing this section of your real estate business plan, you'll need to sit down with your accountant and get their advice on structuring your financials.

You'll need to account for your business expenses and the costs of setting up your company with a website, CRM, and digital marketing services. Remember to include memberships to marketing sites like Zillow Premier Agent and ProspectPLUS.

Your financial plan forms the backbone of your investor's interest in involvement with your real estate firm. The numbers need to make sense, so make sure you run them past your accountant.

Step 9 – Periodically revisit your real estate business plan

Your business plan is a living document, and it changes with your business. Having a rigid plan won't work. The reality is that nothing in business works out 100% the way we plan. You'll need to have a flexible document you can update as your business grows.

During the first year of your operations, we recommend revisiting your business plan every quarter. As the business matures, you can push this exercise back to once every six months or once a year.

Revisiting your business plan gives you a chance to follow up on your goals and targets, giving you ideas on where you need to improve. Real estate professionals understand the importance of remaining responsive to change in a dynamic business environment.

Periodically revisiting your business plan gives you a chance to reflect on your progress and plan the future with clarity and certainty.

Step 10 – Visit B12 for your digital business needs

Your real estate website forms the foundation of your marketing efforts. It acts as the touchstone for your company online, providing a virtual storefront to your prospective clients. Inefficient and ineffective website design can derail your business plans, costing your company vital leads during the startup phase, where you need to generate as much income as possible. For website design inspiration, check out the best real estate websites and this guide on how to design a website !

If you need help with your real estate business website, reach out to the professionals at B12.

B12 specializes in helping professional services companies create beautiful sites that enable them to operate effectively online. Built-in tools like SEO , email marketing, and online scheduling make it easier to reach your audience.

Plan with Professionals

As an individual starting out a new real estate business, you have many things to consider for your real estate business plan and might not have the time to create a website from scratch. Relying on the expertise of design professionals ensures you get a website that helps you achieve your business goals.

Sign up to see a free draft of your new real estate website or learn more about how B12 uses artificial intelligence and experts to help businesses like yours grow online.

Put your client outreach and online presence in one platform

See a free draft of your new real estate website, then unlock tools like email marketing and client intake

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Premier Agent Toolkit

How to create a real estate agent business plan.

In this article:

Why agents need a real estate business plan

How to write a real estate business plan, free real estate business plan template.

Every agent needs a plan to succeed. A real estate business plan keeps you accountable and on track. An optimal business plan for real estate agents includes firm goals, but it’s also fluid — you’ll want to update your real estate business plan as you grow and the market evolves.

A real estate business plan allows you to stay current with market trends and ahead of the competition. It also helps you track results over time, test lead generation strategies and develop new marketing approaches. Zillow’s Bret Calltharp, a former training leader for a large brokerage group, saw his agents’ business increase by an average of 27% when implementing a business plan for the first time.

Here’s what a good real estate agent business plan will show you:

• Where you are today
• Where you want to be
• How you’ll get there
• How to measure your performance
• When and where to make a course correction

The benefits are clear, and you’re convinced — but where do you start? Here are our recommended steps for creating a business plan for real estate agents:

Write an executive summary

Real estate business planning should always start with a summary of who you are, what services you offer, where you operate and who you serve.

Define your mission statement

Your mission statement is the foundation that supports your entire real estate business plan. It should clearly state your guiding principles and goals.

Create a team management summary

If you’re working with a team, include all members who contribute to your success and how they help. Create a table that shows their roles, responsibilities and time frames for specific tasks.

Know your target client

Determine who your target client is and figure out their story. The more personal you can get, the better you’ll serve your clients.

Who, specifically, is your target client? This could be a first-time home buyer, a home seller, a renter — or a more specific subset like retirees or investors.

What is your target client’s story? Ask your clients specific questions and create a strategy based on their answers. Where do they want to live? What is their annual household income? What do they want from their home?

Outline SMART business goals

Your goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely — in other words, SMART . Once your real estate business goals are SMART, break down each goal into objectives. These should be the specific tasks and activities required to accomplish the goal.

Map out your keys to success

Every real estate agent business plan template should include a table that lists the top three ways to achieve business success — and more importantly, the actions required to fulfill them.

Breakeven analysis

A critical part of real estate business planning is determining your breakeven point. What average commission rate do you need to achieve per unit to break even each month? How many homes must you sell at your average commission rate to break even by your target goal?

Understand your market

It’s crucial to stay on top of your target client’s market. A successful agent will know how the market has behaved in the past few years, as well as where it’s headed (and why).

Segment your market

Let’s look at a target client in a sample real estate business plan.

Suppose the target client is a first-time home buyer. How can we segment that market further to include even more detailed and relevant information? Here are two potential market segments for our first-time home buyer:

• First-time home buyers, single family
• First-time home buyers, multigenerational

Plan for market growth

Map out how much growth you anticipate in your market, and use it to forecast the number of potential clients over the next few years.

Track market trends in your real estate business plan with a table listing possible outcomes on the right and trends on the left.

Track market trends

What market trends do you foresee impacting your business and market segments? Here’s a real estate business plan sample that projects a possible outcome for a rise in multigenerational living:

Develop a SWOT analysis

Every business plan needs a SWOT analysis: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Some sample real estate business plan SWOT questions include:

• What sets me apart from my competition?
• What skills need improving?
• Are there any opportunities I’m overlooking?

Recognize your competition

Who’s your primary competition in your target market, and what makes them your primary competition? How will you outperform them?

Create a marketing strategy

Every real estate business plan template needs a marketing strategy table. Highlight your resources and key features, like this sample:

List ways to generate leads

Always keep a list of effective methods to generate leads , and always update the list when new strategies come up. The lead generation list in your real estate development business plan is as simple as this:

Project yearly sales forecast

Use market growth, trends and other real estate marketing strategies to predict your annual sales for the next three years. Here’s an example table from our real estate business plan PDF:

Outline your personnel expenses

Knowing what you’ll spend in a year will help you determine your breakeven point and set reasonable expectations for growth. A simple expense table, like this one from our free real estate business plan, allows you to project your personnel expenses through the next three years:

Measure client experience

Keep track of all the services you offer — and measure how quickly you deliver them. This is crucial in any real estate business planning document, as it helps you build a strong client relationship and track the results over time. Here’s an example for measuring response time:

Use a client relationship management (CRM) tool

There are many CRM tools out there, so it’s easy to find one that fits your needs. Do you want to track analytics? Use it for email marketing? Keep track of property and listing details? Automate your marketing efforts?

As a Zillow Premier Agent , you can use a CRM to manage all your leads and connections, along with their progress through the real estate journey. You can prioritize leads who are actively looking, submitting offers and under contract. Jot down other tools you’re using, especially transaction management tools and their specific functions.

Calculate your business plan performance

The final step in your real estate business plan template is measuring the plan’s performance. Track performance-related questions and how you’ll measure them. Here’s a sample question and measurement example that many agents use for real estate business planning:

Our customizable template helps you create a real estate business plan that outlines what success looks like — for you and your clients — so you can have your best year yet. This sample real estate business plan gives clear examples and allows for complete customization to your personal goals and your real estate market. Jot down your real estate business goals, clarify the state of your finances, profile your target customers and track other data that’s vital to successful real estate business planning.

Best of all — you can get started today! Just download our free real estate business plan template and add your own goals, projections, expenses and data. Don’t forget to update it regularly to accurately track your progress, evolve with the market and stay current with your target client’s needs.

Related Resources

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Blog Real Estate Best Practices 12 Easy Steps to Creating a Perfect Real Estate Business Plan (2024 Updated!)

12 Easy Steps to Creating a Perfect Real Estate Business Plan (2024 Updated!)

To be truly successful in the world of business, you must create a solid business plan. This is the case no matter what industry you are in, and that includes real estate.

The business plan you work out must be unique. There is no cookie cutter approach. You must keep your brand image and goals in mind when creating the plan that’s perfect for you.

However, there are a few steps you can take to ensure your plan is well executed. This article will review those steps to ensure you plan is as successful as possible.

Why Create a Real Estate Business Plan?

A real estate business plan offers several benefits including the following:

• It shows you where your business is at and outlines areas where you can make improvements.
• It allows you to set goals and track progress.
• It can be used to help secure funding. Most potential investors will want to see a copy of your business plan before moving forward.
• It can be a selling point for attracting top talent.
• It provides an outline that will help you manage day to day tasks in an organized fashion.
• It can help you track your marketing efforts.
• It can help you attract clients.
• It will keep you more organized in reaching your long-term goals.

12 Steps to Create The Best Real Estate Business Plan

1. determine your business model.

There are a few ways to go when embarking on your real estate journey. You may decide you want to start or join a real estate team. Or you may decide you want to start or join a brokerage. You’ll want to decide if you need a sole proprietorship or an LLC is in your best interest. You may establish a plan early on in your career, or you may decide to change directions and create a new plan in the middle of your career.

While these are all very different paths to take, there are common elements that will need to be focused on in the plan creation process. They will be outlined in the following sections.

2. Identify Who You Are

Determining your brand identity will help you create marketing materials that reflect your image. Are you a friendly ‘people person’? Or is your main goal finding clients the best investment for their money?

Your strategies will change slightly depending on your business model. If you own or work in a team setting , you must define the role of each team member and their part in helping you reach your goals.

If you own a brokerage, your real estate business plan will help you determine what type of agents you want working for you. If you work on your own , it will all come down to your unique vision.

When putting it down on paper, your identity will consist of:

• Your Mission Statement: Your reason for being in real estate
• Your Executive Summary: One or two sentences that summarize what you do

3. Analyze Your Target Real Estate Market

Once you determine who you are as an agent, you will have a better idea of who you are marketing to. You may be targeting business owners, investors, families, luxury clients and so on. It’s also likely you will be working within a specific area.

After identifying your target audience, you need to figure out how your target market is doing. What are home prices like? How is inventory looking? Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market? And what are future predictions?

You will be able to glean this information by looking carefully at the MLS and staying on top of trends. Online and offline real estate resources will also provide some insight.

In general, you will want to stay on top of:

• General Trends including how long homes are staying on the market on average, commission rates, sale prices, etc.
• Market Opportunities based on supply and demand
• Market Saturations based on inventory and agent services

4. Analyze Your Competition

We all know the saying, ‘keep your friends close and your enemies closer’. Stay on top of what other agents are doing by subscribing to their newsletters and following their social media pages. While you won’t want to copy their strategies outright, they may just inspire you to create a marketing plan that gives you a competitive edge.

You should also look out for underserved niches and competitive saturation.

When it comes to underserved niches, there may be plenty of agents in your area specializing in family residential properties. But how many are serving the commercial sector? Or the luxury sector?

If the city sections in your area are blowing up, consider looking into properties in a nearby suburb to avoid competitive saturation.

5. Decide What Services You Will Provide

Most real estate agents provide the expected services such as conducting open houses, finding homes for buyers, determining pricing, negotiations, and keeping transactions organized in general.

But you can offer additional services that set your business apart. For example, you may provide:

• Staging: Staging involves setting up the home, so it looks more aesthetically appealing. Once upon a time, staging was offered as an addition service. But today, many agents are rolling it into their agent fees. The agent may stage the home themselves, or they may bring in a specialized team for staging.
• Professional Virtual Tours: Today, virtual real estate tours are the way to go. They allow clients to get the experience of being in the home without having to leave their home. If you are not offering this service, it’s time to get onboard.
• Neighborhood Analysis: Most agents provide clients with an overview of what a neighborhood has to offer. But if you want to go that extra mile, you can provide an in-depth report that includes crime rate, types of properties, demographics, and more.
• Relevant Discounts: Agents can offer clients relevant discounts in terms of handyman services, inspections, appraisals and more.

6. Carve Out a Niche

It’s important to carve out a niche in terms of what type of property you want to sell and who your target audience is. But you can get even more ‘niche-y’ by specializing in certain types of properties such as condos and townhouses, catering to first time buyers and so on.

It may seem like carving out a niche is limiting, but it will make people come to you first when they require expertise in your field. When choosing a niche, base it on what you are most skilled at and where you see an opportunity to grow professionally.

7. Create a Marketing Plan

The first step of your marketing plan will involve identifying your target audience and determining the best way to reach them. For example, if you are focused on first time buyers, you will be targeting a millennial crowd. In addition to emphasizing money saving goals, you may also want to advertise yourself as an agent that is environmentally friendly and gives back.

A luxury crowd may have similar concerns, but their main interests will be in finding high end properties that offer the utmost in amenities.

You must also consider the best way to reach your target audience. What social media platforms are they likely to be on? Do you think they will respond well to cold calls , door knockings , and mailings? Or is it best to keep things digital?

You must also consider race, color, origin, sexual orientations, and disabilities. Create marketing materials that are appealing and will not discriminate in any way.

8. Conduct a SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

In terms of strengths and weaknesses, you must consider what you are best at and what could use improving. For example, you may find that you have superior digital skills but that you’re not so great with cold calling. If this is the case, you should focus on digital and avoid cold calls.

However, you may also consider improving weak spots. For example, if it was the other way around and digital was a weakness, you should consider building up your digital skills. This will give you a competitive advantage in today’s world of real estate.

It’s also important to be aware of opportunities and know when to pounce. This will help a lot with lead generation. For example, FSBO, near pre-foreclosure, and divorces are all ideal situations for an agent to come knocking. You may also think of opportunities in terms of underserved areas and niches in your community.

Threats can come in the form of competition and/or changes in the market. There is usually no way to keep these threats from happening, but you can take steps to be prepared when they occur. This will ensure you are in the best shape possible for taking them on and minimizing potential damage.

9. Focus on Your Specific Goals

• Making a certain amount of money in a given time
• Completing a certain number of transactions in a given time
• Attaining a certain number of new clients in a given time
• Reducing lead time
• Growing your company by hiring new agents and employees or opening new locations
• Determining a better work/life balance

When you set up your goals, it’s important to make them measurable and attainable. If your goals aren’t attainable, you will end up wasting time working towards goals you will never reach. You will also become frustrated by your lack of progress.

Measuring goals can be challenging. In today’s digital world, reports and analysis are provided so you can determine your ROI and figure out what’s working and what isn’t. If you are outside of the digital realm, it may be more difficult to measure your progress, but you should have some idea of how well you are doing.

10. Keep Track of Your Finances

No matter how passionate you are about your business, it won’t be a success unless you are making money. You must keep track of how much you are spending and how much you are earning. Your net profits should always be positive.

For best results, implement an online system like QuickBooks. Online bookkeeping systems will provide reports so you can see where most of your money is being spent and your main sources of income. This will help you determine what’s bringing in the most ROI, what’s generating income, and what’s not.

You may also consider hiring an accountant and/or a financial consult. Your financial team will ensure you are making smart moves at tax time and when investing in tools, software, and other business ventures.

11. Review Your Success Ratios

Your success will also be contingent on customer satisfaction. Are your customers pleased with your services? Are they referring friends and family?

If your success ratios are looking good but your finances aren’t matching up, you may be overspending on certain aspects of your business. Look at your records to see where the bulk of your money is going. Cut back if necessary.

12. Revisit Your Real Estate Business Plan Regularly

Your business plan is not set in stone. It’s a good idea to check it on a regular basis so you can revise it in accordance with your current needs. You may also want to create a new business plan if you decide to change up your business model.

A real estate business plan is a valuable tool for agents. It will keep you on course in attaining your goals. This template will help you devise a plan that is best suited to your professional needs. We wish you the best of luck in moving your company forward.

You’re a successful real estate agent, but you’d like to step to the next level. To do that, you want to create a better business plan for next year. So, how do you start? By filling out that form your manager gave you, asking for your goals for next year? Or, maybe you’re attending those trainings where seminar gurus give you 30 things to do next year. That will put you in a quandary because you don’t know how to choose! Please don’t leap to either one. Before you commit, take a look back at your last year (In the strategic planning process, it’s called the ‘ business review’.) Using the same thought process successful businesses use to create effective business plans will give you clarity.

Time To Scope Your Business Plan: Small Adjustments Pay Big Dividends

You and your business are unique.

Don’t copy someone else’s plan or commit to pie in the sky numbers until you know your three business indicators here. Armed with that information, you can pick and choose your actions and goals wisely, because you know they will work for you.

Building Your Business Best: From working with agents in my business planning courses and systems, I’ve observed that many agents don’t build a business plan around their best source of business: ‘sold’ customers and clients. Marketing surveys show that it costs six to nine times as much to get a new customer as to keep an old one. So, if you spend more money on your best source, and less on your other sources, you’ll optimize your investment.

3. How ‘delighted’ are your clients? Most so-called ‘business plans’ in real estate merely are goal-setting grids. Focusing only on the end results suggests that the ends justify the means. However, the consumer sure doesn’t think so! These goal setting grids alone lead agents to miss the point of the decade: Top-flight customer service begets more business. That is, it’s not just what you do, but how you do it. What level of service are you providing? Is it just good enough to get through the transaction? Or, is it so great that your clients are thoroughly delighted ? (Delighted consumers refer business to you–less cost and more effort equals big pay-offs, right?)

Build Delight into your Business Plan

Don’t Worry About the Tactics

If you’ve been gathering those dozens of tactics seminar gurus have suggested you MUST do, your head is probably spinning. That’s not the way to go about creating an effective business plan. Instead, take time to use the strategic planning process, which includes your business review. Commit one hour out of your day now to assess the three areas here and plan adjustments. The bonus: With your answers, you can pick from that myriad of action plans you’ve gathered and choose the ones that support your major goals. Now you have the ‘why’ for your plan, and you’ll be inspired to create and implement your unique business plan.

About the Author

Chris Heller brings 27 years of experience in real estate. Chris serves on the AgentAdvice Editorial Board and is the Chief Real Estate Officer at OJO Labs. Chris brings deep expertise having held influential industry positions including CEO of mellohome and former CEO of Keller Williams Realty International.

Last Updated: 12/29/2023

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BUSINESS STRATEGIES

How to create a real estate business plan

• Nirit Braun
• 10 min read

A real estate business plan is a strategic document that outlines the objectives, strategies and tactics a person or a team will employ when starting a business in the real estate industry. This comprehensive and clear plan not only defines the business' mission, vision and goals but also delineates the steps necessary to achieve them.

When starting a business, especially in a dynamic and competitive sector like real estate, a well-crafted business plan becomes an indispensable tool for success. Beyond helping business in their first steps to understanding how to start a service business , a business plan provides a structured framework that helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions, allocate resources effectively and stay focused on their objectives. By articulating the business' value proposition, rental business ideas , target market, competitive landscape and revenue streams, the plan offers a holistic understanding of the venture's potential and challenges.

Looking to kick off your real estate business? Create a business website today with Wix. These real estate agent websites can help you get started.

In this section, we'll break down the key components involved in crafting a successful real estate business plan in six steps.

Executive summary

Company and domain name

Market analysis and research

Operations plan

Marketing and advertising plan

Financial plan

01. Executive summary

An executive summary is a concise overview of your entire real estate business plan. It serves as a snapshot that captures the essence of your venture, highlighting its key components and objectives. A well-crafted executive summary should provide a clear understanding of your real estate business' purpose, market opportunity, strategies and potential for success. It's typically the first section of the business plan and should be written after the rest of the plan has been completed.

To write a clear executive summary for a real estate business, follow these steps:

Start with a brief introduction: Describe your business’ mission, vision and the services you intend to offer. Highlight what sets your business apart in the competitive real estate landscape.

Summarize the market demand: Explain what kind of opportunity you aim to address with this type of business . Mention key trends in the real estate industry that support the viability of your venture.

Identify your target audience: Whether it's first-time homebuyers, property investors or commercial clients, briefly describe their demographics and needs.

State the unique value you offer to clients: This could be exceptional customer service, a specialized focus or innovative technology solutions.

Outline your key real estate marketing strategies : Highlight how you plan to reach and engage your target market.

Provide a high-level overview of your projected financials: Include revenue projections, startup costs and funding requirements.

Introduce the key members of your team: Highlight how their skills contribute to the success of the real estate business.

Example of an executive summary for a real estate business: “ABC Realty is a dynamic real estate agency that specializes in helping first-time homebuyers navigate the complex property market. With a strong commitment to providing personalized guidance and support, we aim to simplify the buying process and empower our clients to make informed decisions. Our target market consists of young professionals and families looking for their dream homes in urban areas. Leveraging the latest technology and data analytics, we offer a seamless search experience that matches buyers with their ideal properties. Our marketing strategy involves a mix of social media engagement, local partnerships and educational workshops to establish our brand as a trusted resource in the real estate industry. Backed by a team of experienced agents and industry professionals, we are well-positioned to make homeownership dreams a reality while achieving sustainable growth and profitability. Our projected financials indicate a steady upward trajectory, with a goal of reaching profitability within the first two years.”

02. Company and domain name

Knowing how to name a business is crucial for a real estate venture and a key step before you register your business . It shapes your brand identity, influences client perceptions and establishes trust.

Additionally, selecting a suitable domain name for your real estate website is crucial for online visibility and accessibility. Your online presence should be in top form taking into account that 97% of homebuyers search for their homes online. Here's how to approach these decisions:

Company name

Should reflect your business' values and services

Keep it concise, memorable and easy to spell

Check for trademark conflicts to avoid legal issues

Consider using the free business name generator from Wix for inspiration

Be inspired by these real estate business name lists.

Domain name

Align it closely with your company name if possible

Choose a domain extension (.com, .net, .org) that's commonly recognized

Keep it short and free of complex words or hyphens

Ensure it's easy to pronounce and type

Learn more: How to make a website

03. Market analysis and research

Incorporating comprehensive market analysis and research into your business plan is essential for understanding the competitive landscape and formulating an effective business strategy. Conduct market research to identify trends, competitors and potential gaps in the market. Analyze your target audience's preferences, behaviors and pain points to tailor your services and marketing efforts accordingly.

Understanding the market dynamics allows you to position your real estate business strategically and offer unique value propositions that resonate with clients.

04. Operations plan

An operations plan outlines the logistical aspects of your real estate business, ensuring its smooth day-to-day functioning. This section should cover:

The physical location of your business office or headquarters

The size and layout of your office space

The equipment and technology required to run your real estate business

The roles, responsibilities and qualifications of your team members

05. Marketing and advertising plan

In the competitive real estate industry, a robust marketing and advertising plan is vital for attracting clients and establishing your brand presence. Your plan should encompass various marketing strategies , including:

Social media marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and online advertising

Creating valuable content like blog posts, videos and guides

Establishing partnerships with local businesses and industry associations

Hosting events and workshops that educate clients about real estate trends

You’ll also need to develop a suite of brand assets to use in your marketing efforts, starting with a company logo. You can use a free logo maker or real estate logo maker to get a professional design in minutes. Learn how to make a real estate logo that suits your brand.

06. Financial plan

The average cost to start a real estate brokerage can range from $10,000 to $200,000 , so odds are you will need to secure financing. The financial plan outlines your real estate business' financial projections, funding requirements and path to profitability. It should include all your startup costs including starting an LLC , licensing, office setup, marketing materials and technology needs.

Next, estimate income based on property sales, commissions and other revenue sources. Alongside this outline ongoing operational costs, such as rent, salaries, marketing and utilities. Then take the time to specify how your business will be funded initially, whether through personal savings, loans or investor contributions. Finally, predict when your real estate business is expected to reach profitability based on your revenue and expense projections. You can include within this the exact ways to make money as a real estate agent .

Real estate business plan examples

Here are two templates for hypothetical real estate businesses, each including the main parts discussed in our how-to steps.

Real estate business plan template 1: ABC Realty

ABC Realty is a forward-thinking real estate brokerage focused on serving residential clients in urban areas. With a mission to simplify the home buying process for first-time buyers, we aim to provide personalized guidance and a seamless search experience. Our market research indicates a rising demand for affordable housing solutions and our team's expertise positions us well to address this need. Leveraging digital platforms and local partnerships, we're dedicated to establishing a brand known for trust, transparency and professionalism. Our financial projections show steady growth, with profitability projected within 18 months.

Company name: UrbanNest Realty

Domain name: www.urbannestrealty.com

Market analysis: Our research reveals a growing trend of Millennials seeking starter homes in urban areas.

Competitive landscape: Competitor analysis highlights the need for tailored customer service and simplified processes. We will tap into this by offering comprehensive support and leveraging technology to streamline transactions.

Location: A prime urban location with easy accessibility.

Premises: A modern office space designed for client consultations and agent collaboration.

Equipment: State-of-the-art computers, customer relationship management (CRM) software and virtual tour technology.

Staffing: Agents, property management experts and administrative staff.

Digital marketing: Social media campaigns, targeted online ads and search engine optimization.

Content marketing: Regular blog posts on home-buying tips, neighborhood insights and market trends.

Networking: Partnerships with local lenders, moving companies and interior designers to provide added value.

Events and workshops: Monthly homebuyer seminars and virtual property tours.

Startup costs: $60,000 (licenses, office setup, marketing materials)

Revenue projections (first year): $300,000

Revenue projections (section year): $500,000

Expenses: Monthly rent, salaries, marketing expenses and administrative costs

Funding: Personal savings and a small business loan

Profitability timeline: Projected within 18 months

Real estate business plan template 2: Empire Investments

Empire Investments is a dynamic real estate investment firm specializing in commercial properties. With an aim to provide high-value investment opportunities, we focus on acquiring and enhancing properties with substantial growth potential. Our strategy involves leveraging market trends, identifying undervalued assets and optimizing their value through strategic renovations and management. Our team of seasoned professionals ensures a comprehensive approach to portfolio management, driving investor returns. Our financial outlook is promising, with steady revenue growth projected over the next five years.

Company name: Empire Investments

Domain name: www.empireinvestmentsre.com

Market analysis: Our research highlights an increasing demand for mixed-use properties in urban areas.

Competitive landscape: Competitor analysis reveals a gap in the market for value-add properties. We'll focus on acquiring underperforming assets with the potential for repositioning and strong cash flow.

Location: Central business district for easy access to commercial properties.

Premises: A professional office space for meetings and deal analysis.

Equipment: Advanced financial analysis tools and property management software.

Staffing: Investment analysts, property managers, legal experts and administrative support.

Networking: Building relationships with commercial brokers, property managers and industry experts.

Content marketing: Thought leadership articles, market reports and investment guides.

Webinars and seminars: Monthly webinars on commercial real estate investment strategies.

Direct marketing: Targeted outreach to potential investors based on investment preferences.

Startup costs: $150,000 (licenses, office setup, due diligence expenses)

Revenue projections (first year): $1,000,000

Revenue projections (second year): $2,000,000

Expenses: Office overhead, salaries, marketing campaigns and property management costs

Funding: Combination of private equity, investor capital and personal investments

Profitability timeline: Positive cash flow projected within the first year, substantial returns expected over five years

Top benefits of writing a real estate business plan

Starting a business in real estate requires careful planning and a well-structured business plan offers a multitude of benefits that contribute to the venture's success. A business plan helps you in the following ways:

Attracting investors and funding: A well-developed business plan serves as a persuasive tool to attract potential investors and secure funding. It outlines the business's unique value proposition, market opportunities and growth strategies. By clearly articulating the revenue model and projected financials, entrepreneurs demonstrate their preparedness and potential returns, increasing the likelihood of obtaining an investment and raising money for a business .

Resource assessment: Writing a business plan helps entrepreneurs understand the resources, supplies and staff required to launch and operate the real estate business. This comprehensive assessment ensures that nothing is overlooked, from property acquisition and renovation costs to marketing expenses and administrative needs. By listing these requirements, entrepreneurs can plan for adequate funding and efficient resource allocation.

Strategic direction: A business plan outlines the business's short-term and long-term goals, providing a strategic direction for the real estate business. Entrepreneurs can define their target market, geographic focus and property types, enabling them to make informed decisions aligned with their objectives. This clarity prevents aimless pursuits and helps maintain focus on strategies that align with the business' vision.

Risk mitigation: A well-structured business plan anticipates potential challenges and outlines strategies to mitigate risks. Entrepreneurs can identify industry-specific challenges, such as market fluctuations or regulatory hurdles and devise contingency plans. By acknowledging these risks upfront, entrepreneurs can proactively address them and adapt their strategies as needed.

Operational efficiency: The business plan details the organizational structure, roles and responsibilities required to run the real estate business smoothly. Defining these elements helps entrepreneurs allocate tasks effectively and ensure that the right people are in place to execute the business strategies. This clarity enhances operational efficiency and minimizes the potential for confusion or overlaps.

Measurable progress: A business plan sets clear milestones and metrics to measure the real estate business' progress. Entrepreneurs can track key performance indicators (KPIs) against the projected goals, enabling them to assess their success and identify areas for improvement.

Real estate business plan FAQ

What is a business plan in real estate.

A real estate business plan is a document that outlines your goals and strategies for starting or growing a real estate business. It should include a market analysis, a business model, an operational plan and a financial plan.

Which real estate business is most profitable?

Can you become a millionaire from owning real estate, is it a good idea to start a real estate business, how do i organize my real estate business, want to create another type of business plan.

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Legal Templates

Home Business Business Plan Real Estate

Real Estate Business Plan Template

Download our template and create a business plan for your real estate business!

Updated September 22, 2023 Reviewed by Brooke Davis

A real estate business plan is as essential as a business plan for any new or existing business. This step-by-step guide will explain how to make a real estate business plan, provide a real estate business plan template for you to work with, and explain how and why each step is necessary for your business plan to be effective.

We also provide links to downloadable templates to help you create your real estate business plan and sample plans to show you the best ways to tailor your plan for any number of real estate business needs.

Whether you seek investors to grow your business or want to track your goals from year to year as your business develops, a carefully crafted plan will help you.

Why You Need a Business Plan for Your Real Estate Business

How to write a business plan for real estate, real estate business plan sample.

The real estate business plan fills several needs. It gives you an outline of your business goals and the direction you want your business to take. It keeps you in line with industry trends. It lets you monitor your annual performance and change your goals as the market changes.

An effective real estate business plan also acts as a financial summary of your business, showing how it stands about your competition and the industry. The business plan acts as a road map for you and a snapshot of your business for any investors or bankers who want to understand your business.

A real estate business plan will help you spot risks and weaknesses early in your business development and help you set realistic goals for your business.

These are known as SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-based goals.

Creating a business plan without goals is like starting a journey without a destination. Having a destination without a map means going down many blind alleys, taking unnecessary detours, and wasting time as you frequently need to return and start again.

Your business plan will help you avoid these pitfalls and adjust your course while you travel towards your final goal — a successful real estate business.

You must cover critical topics and include the correct information to ensure your business plan is as effective as possible. Follow our guide to writing a well-formed real estate business plan below.

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary contains an overall review of the rest of the business plan. It should include an outline of your history, your mission statement, and an overview of the rest of the report.

This section will include things like:

• Target clients with a fictional “ideal buyer” persona;
• Target neighborhoods, price ranges, and listings;
• Market overviews and potential threats and opportunities;
• A marketing plan outline.
• Your mission statement. This should include where and how your agency was founded, discuss the legal and financial structure, and stress your dedication to your customers and any special advantages you provide to your target clients.

2. Management Team

If you have a management team or a group that has contributed to the business’s success, summarize their names and contributions.

This section highlights everyone who has been involved in your business.

• Owners, founders, and original managers;
• New management, assigned duties and areas, and specific clients;
• Planned management expansion and anticipated managerial goals.
• Include all information about your managers, names, positions and duties, education and work history, past business successes, and other relevant details. Think of this section as your management team’s biography.

As the business expands, your management team section will be one section that needs constant improvement and updating.

3. Products and Services 

Your products and services should be phrased to make you unique in the industry and highlight how you stand out from your competitors. As a real estate business, what do you provide for your clients that others do not? How do your agents compare with your competition?

In real estate, your product is your listing and your brand. What is it that makes your company the one that your target buyer wants to use? In this section, you will highlight the following:

• Your niche market and how you acquire specific listings in your area;
• Your lead generation model and the way you obtain leads that differentiate you from your competitors;
• Your branding. A defining brand can be nebulous, and many firms resort to hiring a brand agent to help them customize and market their brand. You may be a family-friendly agent or specialize in the young professionals market. Determining how you present yourself is critical to your service profile.

4. Customers and Marketing

The customers and marketing section lets you identify your niche within the real estate business and how you intend to reach them.

You defined your ideal customer in your executive summary; now is where you expand on your perfect customer “persona.” A “persona” is the industry name for the imaginary person you sell to.

• Their demographics, age, gender, job, family preference, and income.
• Deal-breakers. What do they have to have in a home? What can they do without?
• Amenities, recreation, entertainment. Does your ideal buyer need dog parks nearby or bike paths? Do they want access to the water or the theater district?
• What type of neighborhood is your ideal buyer looking for? Do they need a school district or prefer to be far from children?

After establishing your ideal customer, you can select the viability of your marketing niche. For instance, is your buyer likely to be a first-time buyer? If so, what percentage of first-time sales were made in your chosen area in the last two years?

The more detailed you can make your Customers and Marketing section, the more you know how your business will likely thrive in your chosen area.

5. SWOT Analysis

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats are necessary for every business analysis. In what areas are you and your business strongest, and where do you need improvement?

Investors appreciate a business owner who can accurately pinpoint their good and bad points and demonstrate how to improve.

This analysis should be fact-based, not opinion-based. You should be able to provide statistics and metrics for your and your competitors’ business research. Some things to consider are:

• In what areas of your business plan are you strongest? Are they similar or dissimilar to your nearest competitor’s strengths?
• In what areas are you weakest? Are you weak where your competitors are strongest?
• What opportunities can you exploit in the next six to 12 months? Are these opportunities unavailable to your competitors?
• What threats are you facing in the next year? How can you avoid these threats or turn them into advantages?

By analyzing your business objectively and reviewing all the facts and numbers, you can determine how you will be placed in the next year.

6. Financials 

The meat of your business plan is the financials. This includes your expenses, annual income forecast (sales, commissions, or other income), cash flow, and costs. As your business grows, your business plan will include previous years’ financials to track the growth.

Your financials should include, at a minimum:

• Expenses. These include operating expenses, whether you have a physical location or are still in the virtual stage of operations, licensing and permitting, fees and filing costs, and other operating expenses. If you have employees, it will also include payroll.
• The past income portion will track how much you have already made. You should be able to show how many leads you have generated, how many transactions you made, and your income from those efforts.
• Future income is how much you would like to make going forward. You can estimate how many leads are needed per transaction and how many transactions per sale from your past efforts.
• Goals. With this information, you should include your projections for the next year and five-year periods. Presumably, you wish to increase profit over the next five years. You can demonstrate how to achieve these goals using income tracking and market research.

7. Operations

Operations contain the moving parts of your financial projections. This section describes how you intend to reach your business goals in the upcoming year. This section might also include upcoming personnel changes, office expansions, etc.

Real Estate operations can include your projected hours of operation, your action plan for achieving your goals, and your marketing and advertising plan. Initially, this may be somewhat fluid if you do not plan to have set hours of operation or a brick-and-mortar office.

Later, as your business increases, this section will include business hours, open house times, etc.

8. Appendix

If your real estate business plan includes any ancillary documents, such as your Articles of Incorporation or a  Business Purchase Agreement , they would be included in the Appendix.

After your first real estate business plan, your previous years’ plans will go into the Appendix so they can be reviewed by potential investors or by your board. You can also include your quarterly statements and other financial documents.

Your Appendix is the section for any documents you want to have that are not essential for your readers’ overall understanding.

Now that you know what goes into your real estate business plan, all that is left for you to do is click on the business plan creation template and begin. Ensure you have all your documentation and research-ready in advance, and the template will provide you with cues as to what information needs to go into which spaces.

After filling in all the blanks, the template will generate a real estate business plan to your specifications.

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Your 10 Step Guide to Building a Real Estate Investing Business Plan

Real estate empires grow from a blueprint, not last-minute hunches. This guide outlines how to create a real estate investing business plan to help you navigate market dynamics, seek funding, and add to your team so that you can successfully grow your business.

Let’s be honest, the idea of drafting a formal real estate investing business plan probably doesn’t excite you. After all, you got into real estate investing to scout deals and transform properties, not write novels full of financial projections.

But experienced investors know a solid plan spells the difference between profitability and major headaches. It forces clarity on direction and feasibility before you sink hundreds of thousands into property purchases and rehabs.

Think of your business plan as a blueprint for success tailored to your unique investment goals and market conditions. Whether you currently own a few rentals or are launching a full-fledged development firm, a plan guides decisions, aligns partners, and demonstrates viability to secure financing.

So how do you build one effectively without needless complexity? What key strategy areas require your focus? Let’s explore components that set you up for growth while avoiding common first-timer pitfalls. With realistic planning as your foundation, your investing journey can start smooth and stay the course.

What is a real estate investing business plan?

At its core, a real estate investment business plan is simply a strategic guide outlining your intended real estate approach. It defines target markets, preferred project types based on expertise, capital sources, growth strategy, key operational procedures, and other investment specifics tailored to your situation.

View your plan as an evolving document rather than a rigid static rulebook collecting dust. It should provide goalposts and guardrails as markets shift over time and new opportunities appear. You'll be able to refer back to the plan to confirm that these new opportunities align with proven tactics that yield predictable returns.

Detailed upfront planning provides a sound foundation for confident direction. It protects stakeholders by identifying potential pitfalls and mitigation strategies before costly surprises trip up the stability of your real estate business.

So, it's worth it to take the time and develop a customized plan aligned to your niche, resources, and risk tolerance. While initially tedious, the practice of putting together your strategic real estate business plan ultimately provides clarity and confidence moving forward.

Importance of having a business plan

Now that we’ve defined what a business plan is, let’s explore why having one matters — especially if you want to grow a successful real estate investment company.

Have you considered what originally attracted you to investing in properties? Whether it was rehabbing flips, acquiring rentals, or simply a lucrative hobby, your motivations and ideal path can get lost in the daily distractions of life. That’s where an intentional business plan provides clarity and conviction moving forward.

Reasons every real estate investor should prioritize planning are:

• Goals and vision : You might be wanting to quit your day job and focus on real estate full time, or you might simply want to generate some extra income on the side. Either way, a business plan forces you to define what success looks like for you.
• Due diligence : Creating a plan forces you to research the real estate markets you want to invest in — analyzing sales, rents, permits, zoning, demographics, and growth projections. This helps you objectively identify high-potential neighborhoods and properties rather than relying on hearsay or intuition.
• Funding and financing : Lenders and potential investors will want to review your business plan to evaluate the viability and profitability of your real estate investment business before offering any financing . A complete plan builds credibility and confidence with stakeholders.
• Guide decision-making : It's easy to get distracted by the latest real estate seminar or shiny new construction techniques. But sticking to the parameters and strategies laid out in your plan prevents you from making hasty changes or going down rabbit holes.
• Identify potential risks : There are always things that can unexpectedly go wrong: what if interest rates spike and make your loans unaffordable, or your best tenants move out and unreliable folks move in? Brainstorming these scenarios in advance allows you to minimize risks and have contingency plans.
• Systemize operations : As you grow, how will you scale operations? A business plan helps you identify areas that will require attention as your business evolves, like creating maintenance checklists for rentals, standardizing lease agreements , or automating accounting procedures.
• Build the right team : Your business plan provides guidance on the team you'll need for your business. Know if you require a real estate agent to help you find deals or a property manager to handle tenant complaints at 2 AM.
• Track progress : Your plan helps you compare things like actual rehab costs, rental occupancy rates, cash flow, etc. to your initial projections and determine whether you're on track.  You can then make adjustments as needed.
• Maintain strategy : As you scale your operations with new hires or partnerships, you'll want to maintain direction in alignment with your original business plan. For example, if you are considering new verticals like commercial real estate, does evaluation criteria match your proven risk metrics and return hurdles? A real estate business plan keeps everyone focused on the same goals as your business grows.

What to include in a real estate investment business plan

A good real estate investing business plan covers everything from business goals to financing strategy. Here are the ten key elements you should include:

1. Executive summary

The executive summary provides a high-level overview of your real estate investment business plan. It briefly describes your company mission, objectives, competitive advantages, growth strategies, team strengths, and financial outlook.

Think of it as the elevator pitch for your business plan, and write it last after you have completed the full plan. Limit it to 1-2 pages at most.

Make your executive summary compelling and motivate investors or lenders to learn more. Be sure to also summarize your past successes and experiences to build credibility.

2. Company description

The company description section provides background details on your real estate investment company. Keep this section brief, but use it to legitimize your business and team.

• Business model : Explain your core business model and investment strategies. Will you primarily flip properties, buy and hold rentals, conduct wholesale deals, or use another approach?
• Company history and achievements : Provide a brief timeline of your company's history, including its formation, past projects, key milestones, and achievements.
• Legal business structure : Identify your corporate structure, such as LLC , S-Corp , C-Corp, or sole proprietorship.
• Office location : Provide your company's office address, which lends you credibility. If you are initially working from home, consider establishing a local PO Box or virtual address.
• Founders and key team members : Introduce your founders and key team members. Highlight relevant real estate, finance, management expertise, and credentials.
• Past projects : Provide an overview of any successful prior real estate projects your company or founders have executed.
• Competitive advantages : Explain unique resources, systems, or other strengths that give your company an edge over competitors. These could be proprietary analytic models, contractor relationships, deal access, or specialized expertise.
• Technologies and tools : Discuss technologies, software programs, or tools your company uses to streamline processes and optimize operations.

3. Market analysis

The market analysis section validates whether your real estate investment strategy makes sense in a given area.

Conduct detailed research from multiple sources to create realistic real estate investment market projections and identify potentially profitable opportunities.

Outline why certain neighborhoods, property types, or price points pique your interest more than others.

Your market analysis should dig deep into factors like:

• Local sales and rental price trends : Analyze pricing history and current trends for both sales and rents. Look at different property types, sizes, and neighborhoods.
• Housing inventory and demand analysis : Research the balance of supply and demand and how that impacts prices. Is the market undersupplied or oversupplied?
• Market growth projections : Review forecasts from real estate analysts on expected market growth or decline in coming years. Incorporate these projections into your analysis.
• Competitor analysis : Identify other real estate investors actively acquiring or managing properties in your target areas. Look at their business models and strategies.
• Target neighborhood and property analysis : Provide an in-depth analysis of your chosen neighborhoods and target property types. Outline positive attributes, risks, and opportunities.
• Demographic analysis : Analyze the demographics of potential tenants or homebuyers for your target properties. Factors like income, age, and family size impact demand.
• Local construction and renovation costs : Research materials and labor costs for accurate budgets and understand the permitting process and timelines.
• Regional economic outlook : Factor in projections for job growth, new employers, infrastructure projects, and how they may impact the real estate market.

4. SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis means stepping back from day-to-day business to assess your broader position and path from a strategic lens.

Internal strengths for your real estate investment business may include an experienced team skilled in major rehab projects, strong contractor relationships, or access to private lending capital. Weaknesses might be limited staff for handling tenant maintenance issues across a growing rental portfolio or only having a small number of referral partners for deal flow.

External opportunities can come from accelerating population growth and development in your target market, new zoning favorable to multifamily housing, or record-low mortgage interest rates. Threats could be rising material prices that hurt your flip margins, laws imposing restrictions on non-primary residence owners, or an oversupply of new luxury rentals, allowing tenants to be choosy.

The SWOT analysis highlights strengths to double down on and risks to mitigate in the real estate market.

5. Financial projections

The financial plan helps for both internal preparation and attracting investors. For real estate companies, the financial plan section should cover:

• Startup costs : Include the expected startup costs involved to start your investment project, such as getting licenses and permits or paying for legal fees.
• Profit and loss forecasts : Create projected profit and loss statements that outline what you think your revenues and expenses will be over the next 3-5 years.
• Cash flow projections : Put together projected cash flow statements that show expected cash flow for each month.
• Return on investment projections : Project your company's expected ROI over time under the different investment scenarios.
• Funding requirements : Based on your forecasts, detail exactly how much capital you will need to start and operate your business until it is profitable. Specify whether you plan to use debt or equity financing.

6. Investment strategy

The investment strategy outlines your niche — will you focus on flipping, buying rentals, commercial properties, or a blend? Define any geographic targets like certain cities or zip codes backed by your research on growth potential.

Specify your criteria for ideal investment properties based on your goals. Decide which factors — age, size, layout, condition, or price point — matter most to you.

You can also use this section to explain how you plan to find deals, whether that's by scouting listed properties, attending foreclosure auctions, or networking to create off-market opportunities.

Clearly conveying your approach allows lenders and potential private investors to grasp your niche, planned pursuits, and process for finding deals. Having a strong strategy that summarizes how you locate, evaluate and capture deals matching your investing thesis can increase lender and private investor confidence in your ability to execute.

7. Marketing plan

Real estate marketing can’t just be an afterthought; it helps attract profitable deals, financing, and tenants to your business, making it a necessary component of your business plan to prioritize.

Components of your marketing plan can include:

• Networking: Actively networking at local real estate meetups puts you directly in front of promising off-market opportunities and partnerships with motivated sellers, lenders and contractors in your community.
• Social media: Consistently nurturing your social media presence can also pay off to help you find opportunities or potential investors.
• Direct marketing: Never underestimate old school direct marketing — sending postcards to addresses with outdated “We Buy Houses” signs or calling the For Sale by Owners numbers from public listings can help you reach motivated sellers.
• Listings management: Note that marketing does not end once you own property. To keep rental vacancies filled, leverage listing sites that can publish your units to a wide audience of prospective tenants.

8. Operations plan

Without systems, real estate investors struggle through renovations plagued by cost overruns, shoddy contractors who never call back, and frustrating tenants who always pay late . The operations component of your plan should consider aspects like:

• Renovations: Ever lined up a contractor who juggles too many clients and leaves your projects languishing? Create standardized processes for accurate scoping, vetting subs, enforcing deadlines contractually, and maintaining contingency funds.
• Business technologies: As your portfolio grows, tasks like tracking income, expenses , assets, and communicating with tenants can quickly overwhelm. Identify technologies early on that help centralize details to avoid getting swamped. Look into property management platforms that automate listings, tenant screening , digitized lease agreements, maintenance work order flows, and communications.
• Insurance: Tenants or contractors can sometimes damage assets. Discuss landlord insurance policies to protect you against lawsuits, natural disasters, and major property repairs as you scale up.

9. Team structure

If you plan to grow your team beyond just yourself or a few partners, your business plan should outline your organization's key roles and responsibilities. This helps you consider what positions you may need to fill as your company scales.

• Partners or co-founders: These are the main decision-makers and equity holders. Outline their background, skills, and the value they bring.
• Property manager: This person handles day-to-day management of properties, tenants and maintenance issues.
• Bookkeeper: You may need daily help managing bank accounts, invoices, taxes, and financial reporting.
• Contractors and project managers : You'll need trusted renovations, repairs, and landscaping contractors. Dedicated project managers help oversee large jobs.
• Leasing agents : As you grow and add more properties, leasing agents handle showings, applications, and signing new tenants.
• Real estate attorneys : Real estate investing requires proper legal filings and compliance. Attorneys can help you manage this risk.

10. Exit strategies

Every wise investor plans their exit strategy upfront before acquiring a property. Will you aim to flip the asset quickly or retain it as a rental long-term? What factors determine ideal timing and the right profit margin for you to walk away?

Build flexibility into your strategy, as markets move in unpredictable ways. Especially with flips, have contingency plans if your listing gets lowballs or no offers. Be willing to rent short-term, refinance and hold if possible, convert to condos, or just patiently wait until the market changes. Having reserves and backup options allows you to avoid a distress sale.

Also include plans for strategies after a property sale, like a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains taxes and reinvest in another property. You may want to use sale proceeds to reduce or clear outstanding debts, enhancing cash flow and financial standing.

Tips for your real estate business plan 

Now that you know what to include, consider the following four tips to help your real estate investment business plan stand out.

1. Be detailed and specific

Resist the urge to gloss over details as you put together your plan. Drill down on the specifics for parameters like:

• Target purchase and rehab costs.
• Timelines for completing projects.
• Minimum profit margins.
• Maximum allowable vacancy rates .
• Minimum cash reserves.

2. Refine and update regularly

Markets change, so don't create your business plan and file it away. Review your plan regularly to see how market conditions and your actual results compare to projections.

Make adjustments as needed. Tweak your approach if your rehabs are going over budget or your properties aren't selling as quickly as expected.

Aim to update your full plan annually at a minimum. Even if your overall strategy remains consistent, refresh the details around market factors, financials, tactics, risks, and projections.

3. Seek expert feedback

Before implementing your new real estate investment business plan, seek feedback from advisors who can identify potential issues or weaknesses.

Ask experienced real estate investors in your area to review your plan and provide constructive input. It's also a good idea to share your plan and numbers with your CPA and legal counsel as well.

4. Keep it simple

While specificity is good, don't over complicate your business plan to the point where it becomes difficult to follow. You want to inform readers without confusing them.

The goal is for stakeholders, such as co-investors, lenders, and partners, to easily digest your plan and understand it after a quick skim. Make it easy for readers to grasp your reasons behind focusing on a given area or project type based on market conditions and opportunity.

A property investment business plan fit to your goals

After finally finishing your business plan, you’re probably eager to dive into tangible investments rather than tweaking spreadsheets. But in the real estate industry, even experienced investors periodically step back and update strategies.

Approach your business plan as a living document that evolves as the market shifts, as you create new partnerships, or when you need to make changes in strategy. Set reminders to revisit quarterly and confirm your activities of today still align with the vision from day one.

Solid planning is proven to improve outcomes in dynamic industries like real estate investing. Though preparation isn’t glamorous, it pays dividends. Thoughtfully constructing your playbook puts the odds of executing successfully in your favor.

With a solid blueprint backed by your research, you’re now ready to capture the best real estate investment opportunities.

Business plan real estate investor FAQs

How do i stay flexible and adapt my business plan to changes in the market.

To stay flexible, review your real estate investing business plan regularly and update it based on changes in market conditions, trends, and opportunities. If things change in the market, find ways to adapt your strategy. This can include your goals, target market, financing, and even your exit plans.

How do I know if my real estate investing business plan is effective?

You'll know your business plan is effective if you're meeting the key objectives and metrics you outlined. Let's say your plan called for you to purchase a certain number of properties and achieve a specific cash flow or rate of return. If you're falling short, you can use the plan to course-correct.

Are there any specific software or tools for creating a real estate investing business plan?

Azibo is a helpful software tool for creating real estate investing business plans. This comprehensive platform has templates and tools to build out key sections of your plan. Its robust accounting and financial capabilities help construct accurate statements and projections.

Incorporating Azibo's online rent collection allows you to model cash flows. By centralizing lease documents , accounting, and portfolio management, Azibo streamlines the process of putting together a strategically sound real estate business plan.

Important Note: This post is for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be taken as legal, accounting, or tax advice, nor should it be used as a substitute for such services. Always consult your own legal, accounting, or tax counsel before taking any action based on this information.

Nichole co-founded Gateway Private Equity Group, with a history of investments in single-family and multi-family properties, and now a specialization in hotel real estate investments. She is also the creator of NicsGuide.com, a blog dedicated to real estate investing.

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Real Estate Development Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Real Estate Development Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their real estate development companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a real estate development business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Real Estate Development Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your real estate development business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Real Estate Development Firm

If you’re looking to start a real estate development business or grow your existing real estate development company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your real estate development business to improve your chances of success. Your business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Real Estate Development Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a real estate development business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for real estate development companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a real estate development business.

If you want to start a real estate development business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of real estate development business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a real estate development business that you would like to grow, or are you operating an established real estate business that you would like to sell?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the real estate development industry.
• Discuss the type of real estate development business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target market.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your management team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of real estate development business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of real estate development businesses:

• Residential development: developing neighborhoods or communities of houses for residential living purposes.
• Commercial development: developing commercial properties to sell or lease.
• Subdivision development: dividing a single piece of land into smaller lots to be developed and/or sold.
• Industrial development: readying land and facilities for manufacturing, production, and other industrial purposes.
• Greenfield development: readying undeveloped land for agriculture or leaving as is while holding as an investment.

In addition to explaining the type of real estate development business you will operate, the company description needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of properties developed, generating $X amount in revenue, reaching X number of clients, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the real estate development industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section:

• How big is the real estate development industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your real estate development business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, schools, families, and corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of real estate development business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other real estate development businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes other types of properties for sale, leasing another facility versus purchasing one from you or hiring an in-house development team.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of customers do they serve?
• What type of real estate development business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you make it easier for clients to engage with your business?
• Will you offer products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a real estate development business, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of real estate development company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide renovation services, sell newly developed land, or finance real estate deals?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your real estate development company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your real estate development business located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your real estate development marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your real estate development business, including answering calls, planning and managing projects, billing clients and collecting payments, and scheduling meetings with prospective and current clients.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to sell your X number of properties, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your real estate development business to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your real estate development business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing real estate development businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your management team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a real estate development business or successfully running their own real estate company.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you charge a development fee of 5%? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your real estate development business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a real estate development business:

• Cost of office equipment and supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of previous real estate developments you’ve been involved in.  

Writing a business plan for your real estate development business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the real estate development industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful real estate development business.  

Real Estate Development Business Plan Template FAQs

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How Do You Start a Real Estate Development Business?

Starting a real estate development business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Real Estate Development Business
• Create Your Real Estate Development Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Real Estate Development Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Real Estate Development Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Real Estate Development Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Real Estate Development Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Real Estate Development Business Equipment
• Develop Your Real Estate Development Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Real Estate Development Business
• Open for Business

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Real Estate Brokerage Business Plan

Start your own real estate brokerage business plan

RJ Wagner and Assoc. Realty

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., is an S corporation domiciled in the state of Texas. This corporation is capitalized by one single stockholder and one principal investor, Regina Wagner.  Regina Wagner is a licensed broker and the sponsoring broker for this firm. The licensed broker of this firm will sponsor licensed real estate agents (independent contractors) in the state of Texas. This corporation will formalize the real estate services offered.

RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., will open its doors for operation in July.  The office is located in Houston, Texas (Champions area) in the Greenwood Square Shopping Center, to provide services to the higher income section of Metropolitan Houston.

Credibility and reputation excel with the broker of this firm, with a published real estate book and real estate organizational programs placed in the Houston Association of Realtors and the Dallas Association of Realtors bookstores and superstores. For the past year novice licensed agents have enjoyed the organizational tools and guidance offered in the book Texas Real Estate/The Mobile Mentor.

1.1 Objectives

The primary objectives of our organization are to:

• Become a profitable organization allowing us the freedom of taking advantage of other real estate investment opportunities as they become available.
• Recruit and hire self-motivated, success-oriented, and hardworking sales agents.
• Maintain an office of at least 15 sales agents who meet the previous requirements.
• Develop a solid, corporate identity in our specified targeted market area.
• To establish good working relationships and begin working as a team, promoting communication and suggestions from all participants.
• Become one of the top brokerage firms in operation in the Champion area by our third year of operation, or before.
• Realize a positive return on investment within the first 12 months.

We believe the above-mentioned objectives are obtainable because of the professionalism of the manager and sales associates this corporation will hold.  Individuals gaining a real estate license leave school with the knowledge of the real estate laws and procedures. The turnover rate in this business is high since agents have no training outside the laws and regulations of the business itself. Once they have a license, only then, they may obtain the sales and marketing training that is needed upon entering the profession. This training is available at a high price to the agent. When starting out, most agents are not able to obtain this training at the high prices set forth, and without the proper training the average earnings of a beginning real estate agent is very low in comparison to industry standards.

The office environment we will be providing will be productively arranged yet inviting to the agent as well as the client. There will be a location in the office each day with a daily marketing routine/schedule to follow.  Agents have the opportunity to be guided each day through a marketing plan to gain clients. They may choose to follow the guidelines and  training provided or they may follow their own daily routines. We will be supplying a program allowing the new agents to earn more than the average real estate agent by providing guidance and stability.

If an agent with our company sets a goal to obtain only one seller and one buyer for the month, on an average of $150,000 sale on each side, would earn the agent $6,750 per month X 12 months = $81,000 per year. Regina’s goal as the broker is to assist each agent in conquering this goal.

The same sales as noted above would profit the corporation $2,250 per month X 12 months =  $27,000 for the year X 15 agents = $405,000. This is not including sales from the active broker of this corporation which would be $4,500 commission from each side to total  $9,000 (100%) to the corporation.   The broker will receive a salary from the corporation.

1.2 Mission

This plan is written as a guide for starting and managing this new business, and will also serve as the basis for a separate, detailed marketing plan. Following is a summary of the main points of this plan.

• The objectives of RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., are to generate a profit, grow at a challenging and manageable rate, and to live up to the ethical codes set forth by the Texas Real Estate Commission.
• The first mission of RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., is to first recruit Texas real estate agents. The agents choosing this firm will receive top commission allowing them more financial advantage for advertising in order to gain more business.
• The ongoing mission will be to assist both homeowners selling their homes, as well as homebuyers purchasing the home of their future, by providing professional and personal assistance. Ensuring customer’s best interest are always of the utmost importance.
• The keys to success for RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., are marketing and networking, responsiveness and quality of customer service and generating repeat customers.
• We wish to establish a successful partnership with our clients, our staff members, and our title companies, that respect the interests and goals of each party.
• The local market for this business, while not new, is wide open for new and expanding brokerage firms.
• An initial financial analysis of the viability of this venture shows outstanding promise and results. Several sources note that the real estate business has proven to be quite lucrative in today’s fast-paced world.

While so doing, the company will always continue to strengthen its position in the target market area by providing superior customer service to clients and to sales associates.

In conclusion, as shown in the highlights chart to follow, this plan projects rapid growth, as additional agents join, and high net profits over the next three years. Implementing this plan, in conjunction with a comprehensive and detailed marketing plan, will ensure that RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., rapidly becomes a profitable venture for the owner as well as for the contracting agents.

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., is a new company that provides high-level expertise in real estate sales in the state of Texas.  It will focus initially on homesellers and homebuyers, as well as in-house sales agents. Our customer service philosophy is unique. In a philosophic sense, RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., has three distinct customer groups: sellers, buyers, and agents.

Sellers of real property are our first customers. Listers of properties (sellers) pay commissions from the sale of their property and are the direct clients of the real estate brokers. We will never lose our focus that clients who have retained RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., to list and sell their properties are our first obligation.

Our second real customer is the buyer of residential real estate. We will provide superior personal services to buyers.

Our third real customer is the licensed real estate sales agent. It is the agent’s job to provide a professional service to both sellers and buyers, specifically in this order. Therefore, it is the direct responsibility of RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., to provide service to our sales agents.

2.1 Company Ownership

RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., has been formed as an S corporation domiciled in the state of Texas.  This corporation is capitalized by one single stockholder and one principal investor, the owner and broker of this firm, Regina J. Wagner.  

2.2 Start-up Summary

Our start-up costs are outlined in the following chart. Said start-up costs derive from website design, office equipment, main computer station (complete with all realtor information for agent usage), stationery, legal costs, furnishings, office advertising and services, and expenses associated with opening our first office.  The start-up costs are to be financed by direct owner investment and credit. The assumptions are shown in the following table and chart.

Lease office space averages $1.10 – 1.60 per square foot to equal an approximate of $1,500 per month, plus utilities, for efficient leased office space.  Commercial lease will be for a three to five year agreement with the first month and a security deposit equal to the monthly lease rate payable at the time of lease start date. 

At RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., our principal service consists of selling residential real estate in a targeted market area. Our services provide our clients with an international network of buyers and sellers through the multiple listing service (MLS). Because of our capabilities to network with other brokers, we will sell homes faster than our clients could if they tried to market their home without the assistance of a licensed real estate agent.

In addition, our customers will list their homes with our agency because of our aggressive and highly-skilled professionals. We will continuously have an above-average sales force to generate and close residential listings.

The owner and broker of RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., is committed to success in the real estate market and adheres to the strict rules handed down by the Texas Real Estate Commission.  Our high level of commitment will enable the company to attract top professionals as sales associates and clients looking to buy and sell residential real estate. 

Agents with this firm will be provided with the following services:  

• Top commissions.
• 24/7 hour office access.
• Own Web page.
• Marketing/sales guidelines to follow each day.
• Personal goal setting training
• Professional/commercial office setting in a highly visible and reputable location in the city of Houston.
• 24-hour answering service.
• Free inside/outside panoramic photography of each property listing.  All photos are placed on HAR/MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and to the Internet realty sites.
• Full broker support.
• Professional flyer will be furnished complete with property photos for advertisement.
• Yard signs will be supplied and installed for the agent.
• Flyer distribution to other broker sites/agents.

Sellers will be provided with the following services:

• Free CMA (Comparative Market Analysis).
• Inside/outside photos in panoramic view placed on MLS (Multiple Listing System) and real estate Internet sites. This allows potential buyers to view our seller’s property online.
• Advertising in local real estate publications.
• We design an attractive pamphlet with all property information, room dimensions, tax information, a letter from the seller, and a complete history of the home for potential buyers to read while viewing the property. This pamphlet is for the seller to keep or to give to the new owner when the home sells. 
• Attractive yard signs with flyer tubes attached for potential buyers driving by.
• “Just Listed Post Cards” mailed to surrounding neighborhoods.
• Listing flyers distributed to other broker sites.
• Circulated open house invitations (per seller approval).
• Supra System Computerized Lockboxes (we know when and who entered premises at all times).
• Excellent follow-up system on each showing.
• If no contract is submitted within the first listed month, we re-analyze our future marketing procedures with the seller.

Buyers will be provided with the following services:

• We match buyers to homes. We have an extensive questionnaire for our buyers to list their wants and needs.  We then take this questionnaire and put the supplied information into our Passport program to match buyers to the homes matching their criteria. (Passport is the latest software available to licensed real estate agents and brokers in the state of Texas.)
• We go a step further with our buyers and we go on-site for them.  We visit the homes of their choice and take inside and outside panoramic photos for their viewing. We can email the photos or have a face to face showing with the buyer. The buyer does not have to go on-site unless they choose to. We bring the home to them.
• We present their offers and comply with all negotiating for them.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., will be focusing on supplying homebuyers and homesellers professionalism and expertise in reaching a successful sale and/or purchase in their real estate needs. Our concentration also lies with our in-house agents. We feel by providing our in-house agents the support program they need our productivity should excel at a rapid pace.

Due to the strengthening of the economy in Houston area, more homebuyers today are looking to purchase homes. These changes in attitudes of homebuyers are a tremendous boost to real estate firms.

We are poised to take advantage of these changes, and expect to become a recognized name and profitable entity in the Houston real estate market.  We chose to locate our office in the area of most revenue potential. Our targeted market area, the Champions area, shows stability and growth. We have a beautiful office, centered in the Champions area. This location will enable our sales associates to work in an area that will allow them to make more money in a shorter period of time.

The first quarter home values were up 8.8% from the same period in 2000, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight says. The gain reflects an increase from the previous quarter, when residential real estate values saw year-over-year growth of 8.1%.

As stated in the Objectives section–we outline the profits to be gained with each agent striving for one seller and one buyer each month. We also state the extensive marketing plans, goal setting and training provided by this corporation to assist each agent in reaching this goal.

As the outline following will indicate–our agents will earn top commissions, be supplied with the latest in marketing and advertising assistance, and have on-site broker assistance at all times. This coupled with the teamwork and excellent marketing programs provided, we feel we have a recipe for success.

4.1 Market Segmentation

• Our most important market segment is the homeseller. The seller will be calling upon RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., for our excellent marketing strategies and techniques, and our ability to deliver personal consulting, professionalism and a follow up system.
• As important would be the homebuyer. These buyers will be calling on RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., to “match” their criteria selections.  This corporation will be previewing matching criteria homes for the buyer, thus providing the buyer with on-site viewing capabilities without actually visiting the home site.
• Individuals desiring to lease will also be guided to lease properties of their matching criteria needs.
• When referring a  client outside our expertise range, we would search for a reputable and knowledgeable agent to assist them at their destination. When this corporation is the recipient of a referral–we would match the buyer to homes meeting his/her criteria specifications.
• Last, but not least, would be the corporation in-house agents. We view each one as a customer and are sensitive to their needs. Tools, training, marketing techniques and strategies, and guidance needed is available at all times. Each agent will have the opportunity to be assisted in designing a work schedule that adheres to their work style, hence allowing greater productivity. All agents will receive on-site guidance in all areas needed.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

We cannot survive just waiting for the customer to come to us. Instead, we must get better at focusing on the specific market segments whose needs match our offerings. Focusing on targeted segments is the key to our future.

Therefore, we need to focus our marketing message and our services offered. We need to develop our message, communicate it, and make good on it.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

RJ Wagner & Associates Realty, Inc., will focus on the real estate needs in the Houston and surrounding areas.  Our target customer will be, and our concentration will focus on the representation of, homesellers, homebuyers, relocation clientele. 

To be the success we are striving to become this corporation realizes it must place a tremendous concentration on its in-house licensed agents. The agents with this firm will be supported and assisted to the best of our ability.

5.1 Competitive Edge

The corporate broker of this firm has a published real estate book (Texas Real Estate/The Mobile Mentor). This book  and the accompanying organizational programs, are distributed throughout the state of Texas in real estate book stores and associations. This book was written for the novice agent which will be provided to oncoming agents as a reference tool, therefore, allowing a fast start program. 

This firm allows “Top Commissions” to the agents allowing for more agent advertising and marketing promotions. This firm is highly supportive to the agent it sponsors in the respect of compliance with agent listing tasks. All of which free the agent’s time to do what the agent is trained to do and that is to sell and gain clients.

This firm has a marketing plan in place for agents to utilize.  The company will be assisting all agents in goal setting/planning and in their marketing techniques/strategies. Even though the agents are independent contractors, this firm will run as a team. The open door policy will be in place at all times inviting new ideas and suggestions.

In addition, please reference the Services section for an outline of our services offered to in-house agents, our sellers and our buyers.  All services offered to each provide this corporation with a competitive edge, for we know of no other firm offering the extensive services we provide.

5.2 Sales Strategy

• Sales in our business is gaining property listings and utilizing a marketing plan that works best for the client.
• We locate and match homes to buyers according to the criteria submitted by the buyer.
• We assist in relocating clients to their new destinations and/or assist clients relocating to our area in their home search. We offer an excellent referral service anywhere in the United States.
• We search for lease properties for individuals wishing to lease versus purchasing.
• We allow above-standard commission percentage rates, then provide excellent marketing and advertising programs.
• We provide our selling agents with an excellent support program as well as guidance.

Each potential seller listing or buyer representation we receive should be treated as an individual mission. Each client and client property must be analyzed to ensure our marketing program supplied fits their particular property and promotes it in the best possible way.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

The following table and chart give a run-down on forecasted sales. We expect sales to be slowest during September through December, building between January through March and the most growth during the months of March through August.

5.3 Milestones

The accompanying table lists important program milestones, with dates and managers in charge, and budgets for each. The milestone schedule indicates our emphasis on planning for implementation.

What the table doesn’t show is the commitment behind it. Our business plan includes complete provisions for plan-vs.-actual analysis, and we will hold monthly follow-up meetings to discuss the variance and course corrections.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

At this time, this broker is an active listing broker.  Recruiting licensed agents is now in process in the Houston and surrounding areas. This firm estimates to add a total of three licensed agents in 2001, with a minimum of 12 agents to be added throughout the year of 2002. (A minimum of one agent per month gain in 2002). This firm strives to obtain a minimum total of 15 licensed real estate agents contracting under this sponsored broker. Agents with this firm have the option to work in-house or out of a home-based office.

In addition to the real estate services provided by this corporation to homesellers and to homebuyers, this firm offers inside/outside photography services in-house as well as to other broker firms. This service is free to in-house agents and a service fee is charged to other broker sites and agents utilizing this service.

As RJ Wagner is a sole proprietorship, the principal’s personal net worth is given below.

6.1 Personnel Plan

This firm will not have employees but rather independent contractors.  Therefore, the firm will not be issuing payroll to employees. Payroll will be issued to the broker of the corporation alone.  All reception/secretarial needs will be complied with by the on-site/on duty agents on any given day.  There will be two licensed agents on duty at all times.

Licensed agents will receive 3% commission on “one” side (seller or buyer side) of the sale spectrum. Of that 3% commission earned, 25% is awarded to the company. If an agent performs the act of the selling agent and also the buyer agent of the same property sale, then this agent would gain the full 6% commission (both sides of the agency), therefore, the corporation would be awarded 25% from each agency side.

We believe this plan is a fair compromise between fairness and expedience, and meets the commitment of our mission statement. The detailed monthly personnel plan for the first year is included in the appendix.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

• We want to finance growth mainly through cash flow. We recognize that this means we will have to grow more slowly than we might like.
• The most important factor for R.J. Wagner & Associates Realty is the closing sales days. These dates will be determined ultimately by the seller and the buyer and a  move out/move in schedule will be complied with. Immediately following the closing sale commission will be disbursed by the title company conducting the closing.

7.1 Important Assumptions

The financial plan depends on important assumptions, most of which are shown in the following table as annual assumptions. The monthly assumptions are included in the appendix. From the beginning, we recognize that collection days are critical, but not a factor we can influence easily. At least we are planning on the problem, and dealing with it. Interest rates, tax rates, and personnel burden are based on conservative assumptions.

Some of the more important underlying assumptions are:

• We assume a strong economy, without major recession.
• We assume that there are no unforeseen changes in the economy that would change our estimations.

7.2 Projected Profit and Loss

Our projected profit and loss is shown in the following table.

As with the break-even, we are projecting very conservatively regarding cost of sales and gross margin.  Initially, we will depend on our associates for most fulfillment, which is why costs should be lower than shown. We prefer to project conservatively so that we make sure we have enough cash.

We are spending less on marketing expenses due to our paid memberships with the associations. This broker has a published real estate book and organizational programs placed in the Houston Association of Realtors and also the Dallas Association of Realtors. The associations advertise these marketing tools free to this broker.

The detailed monthly projections are included in the appendix.

7.3 Break-even Analysis

The following table and chart will summarize our break-even analysis. Most of our cost of fulfillment is actually the sales of the agents as well as the sales of the active broker. We don’t expect to reach break-even until a few months into the business operation.

7.4 Projected Cash Flow

Cash flow projections are critical to our success. The monthly cash flow is shown in the illustration, with one bar representing the cash flow per month, and the other the monthly balance. The annual cash flow figures are included here and the more important detailed monthly numbers are included in the appendix.

7.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The balance sheet in the following table shows managed but sufficient growth of net worth, and a sufficiently healthy financial position. The monthly estimates are included in the appendix.

7.6 Business Ratios

The following table outlines some of the more important ratios from the Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers industry. The final column, Industry Profile, details specific ratios based on the industry as it is classified by the Standard Industry Classification (SIC) code, 6531.

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Creating a real estate marketing plan can be harder than it sounds. It’s important to be intentional and choose strategies that give you the highest likelihood of meeting and connecting with your ideal clients. If your marketing isn’t aligned with your niche, personal brand, and skills, you’ll waste time, money and effort pursuing it.

I put together this guide to help you find your niche and create a real estate marketing plan aligned with your brand, personality, and local market. I’ll explain why a detailed plan is crucial for every agent in 2024, and I’ll walk you through the actionable, step-by-step guide I’ve used with hundreds of agents to help you create your own unique plan. Finally, I’ll wrap up with the three marketing tools every agent needs to hit the ground running in 2024.

In this article

• Why every agent needs a strategic real estate marketing plan

How to create your real estate marketing plan 

The 3 marketing tools every agent needs, the full picture: creating a real estate marketing plan that works, why every agent needs a strategic real estate marketing plan .

With so many possible ways to find business, many agents (myself included in my first few years!) fall into the same pattern: trying too many things at once, not doing any of them at a high level or consistently enough, not seeing results, and then feeling like a failure. The most successful agents have a marketing plan that’s specific and focused.

Here are four reasons why a specific and focused real estate marketing plan will set you up for success in 2024 and beyond:

1. The compound interest effect

Focusing on fewer marketing activities (and those that are proven to work) allows you to use your time more wisely, strategically, and effectively. Rather than wasting time and money trying many different tactics to find clients, a detailed plan allows you to focus on just a few. I usually recommend sticking to no more than two or three.

2. You can use your time more strategically

If you’re familiar with compound interest, you know that it scales exponentially and builds on itself over time. The same applies to agents who put effort into one to three marketing strategies. Consistency is key, of course. The compound effect happens over time, yet if you don’t have a concrete marketing plan in place, you won’t see the results you hope for.

3. The freedom to say “no” to everything else

Most of us default to saying “yes” to too many things. If you’ve ever walked through a vendor hall at a real estate conference, you know what I mean. We say “yes” to any new shiny object we find, and that typically leads to wasting time, money, and energy. Instead, use your real estate marketing plan as a guide. Ask yourself if this tool you’re considering buying or tactic you’re about to try is aligned with your plan. From there, the decision is made for you!

4. It will help you choose your ideal client and build your ideal business

We all say we want to work with any client who’s willing to hire us. But the reality is most of us prefer working within a specific niche. Your niche could be anything from first-time buyers to downsizers or investors. By identifying your ideal client before you create your plan, you can tailor your activities to your audience. Doing so will help you build your ideal business, working with clients you enjoy, in the niche you love.

NAR reports that in 2023, 19% of homebuyers were single women and 16% were unmarried couples. A strategic real estate marketing plan will help you target these growing niches in the industry.

Now that you understand why it’s so critical to have a concrete marketing plan for your real estate business, let’s dive into the tactical steps to creating your unique plan.

1. Carve out time and change up your physical space

Planning time usually doesn’t occur naturally in a busy real estate agent’s calendar. In my experience, planning doesn’t happen at all unless it’s purposefully scheduled and protected. This means saying no to other things to allow yourself the time to plan. 

How much time you’ll need varies from person to person, but I’d generally allocate anywhere from a few hours to two days to work on your real estate marketing plan.  My two-day approach looks like this:

You complete all the steps listed here and create a rough draft of your plan. Then sleep on it.

Revisit it and make any adjustments. Sometimes, stepping away from a project for a bit helps you see it even more clearly.

Why where you work on your plan matters

I always recommend changing your physical location. A quiet spot to think, analyze, and plan will make a huge difference. I like to take myself on a short retreat once or twice each year. Creativity and clarity flourish when we aren’t in our everyday spaces (home, office, etc), and even one night in a hotel (even in your own city!) can provide the space you need to create your marketing plan.

2. Audit your past marketing strategies and results

Once you have the time and space to create your plan, start with an audit of everything you’ve tried in the past. Write down every lead generation and marketing strategy you’ve tried. Then, write down how much time, money, and energy each strategy took. You’ll also want to keep in mind how much you enjoy each strategy! Finally, write down the results from each one. You can do this on paper or with a simple Excel or Google Sheet. You can download the real estate marketing plan template I use with my coaching clients here:

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Here’s an example of an audit one of my clients recently completed for their Chamber of Commerce membership:

Example marketing strategy audit

Marketing Strategy: Annual Chamber of Commerce membership Dues: $360 Time investment: 2 hours per month Energy investment: tiring but fun Results (units): 5 referrals, 3 closings Results (GCI): $30,000

Analyzing the results 

If you were this agent, would you continue your membership with the chamber? Is the return worth it? For me, I’d say absolutely yes! The financial ROI is incredibly high, and the time ROI is also very high; it breaks down to $1,250/hour ($30k divided by 24 hours). The energy expended takes a toll, yet the agents are still having fun even if they find it a bit tiring.

Completing this exercise for all of your marketing strategies can be time-consuming and tedious (not all of us love the data collection and math involved here; it’s not the sexiest task), yet it’s vital for your success going forward if you want to maximize your results. 

3. Decide which marketing strategies to delete, delegate, or double down on     

Now that you have a clear picture of your past marketing activities, it’s time to make some decisions about which specific marketing strategies you’ll focus on this year. I call this the 3 D’s: delete, delegate, or double-down. For each activity, you’ll decide if you want to: 

Delete  

Get rid of it entirely. If the marketing strategy is not working at all or costing more than you’re making, delete. Eliminate this strategy from your new real estate marketing plan. And give yourself permission to get rid of it without feeling guilty! I’m telling you now: it’s ok to stop doing anything that’s not working as long as you’ve given the strategy enough time. 

I know this sounds extreme and maybe a little scary, but remember: you can always return to a deleted strategy at a later point in your career when you have more time or money to invest or when you can hire someone else to do it for you.

Delegate  

If the marketing activity is bringing results but you can’t stand doing it, then delegate. Pay someone else to do it for you. This can be structured as an hourly rate or a referral fee on closed business. Or you can hire another company to help you streamline your efforts.

Example 1: Hire an ISA to make cold calls and set appointments for you. This is a great task to delegate to another agent in your office who’s awesome on the phone.

Example 2: Hire a graphic designer or marketing company to help you with your social media content. I see a lot of agents struggle with this, and the convenience of having access to pre-designed templates is usually worth the cost.

If you can’t afford to hire a designer or marketing company, Coffee and Contracts is an excellent option. They offer gorgeous templates (like the one above) and done-for-you viral content for Instagram posts, Reels and stories. The best part is they’re all created by top-producing agents and designed to actually generate leads and build your brand.

Double-down

For everything that is generating a positive ROI (and that you enjoy), double-down. This is where the best results are found! By deleting and delegating everything else, you’ve created more time, money, and energy to pour into the right strategies for you. This is what alignment looks like, and this is where I see agents really find their greatest success. 

Not sure what to delete? As I’m coaching agents, I notice many of them yield positive results from cold calling — but they dread every second of it. If reading that sentence just now resonated with you, I can confidently say that’s a glaring signal that cold calling is not aligned with your personality. Be careful not to commit to any marketing strategy that’s too much of an energy-suck! You need to reserve enough energy to serve your clients well. If you’d like some help brainstorming your marketing strategies, check out The Quiet Success Club . We meet twice a month via Zoom and mastermind various marketing ideas to help you find more business.

There are some marketing strategies that take more time to see results than others. Farming a neighborhood with direct mail is a good example. In general, I recommend giving each strategy 6 months to one year before deciding to delete it.

4. Determine your goals  

Every real estate coach and training company has their own advice about goal-setting, and there’s no right or wrong way to set goals, as long as they are specific and measurable. I advise agents to set several goals: how many people you want to help (units), how much money you desire to earn (GCI), and how much you want to work (days off). Maybe your goal is to sell 20 properties, make $150,000 this year, and work five days per week. That’s specific and measurable, so as the months pass, you can track whether you’re on pace to meet your goals. 

5. Define your ideal client and niche  

Think about who you’d like to work with, who you naturally encounter in your personal life, and where you live. It’s also worth considering the latest trends. The more narrow your niche, the better. You can be very strategic here.

I know It sounds counterintuitive, but think about it: if we met at a real estate conference, and I told you I work with buyers and sellers in the Boston area, you may or may not remember that in a few months. But if I said, “I work with retired seniors who don’t want the hassle of maintaining a large property anymore, who want more time and freedom to spend with their grandchildren, and who would appreciate having the entire downsizing process managed for them. I specialize in Newton, MA and cover the greater Boston area,” — that would be much more memorable.

Exercise: Look at your calendar from the past month. Where have you spent time? Where are you meeting with and talking to other people who might be close to buying or selling a home? It could be a social group, somewhere you volunteer, other parents at your kids’ school, church, another job you’re working, or simply your neighbors you run into when you’re out for a walk. Maybe you have a strong college alumni network or a large extended family who would be happy to refer you some business. Chances are you’re talking to more people every day than you realize! Now you’ll have some data to work with, and you can choose a niche that makes sense. Example: For almost a decade, millennials have been the largest demographic group buying homes. That changed in 2023, though. According to NAR , baby boomers purchased more homes than any other group last year — making up 39% of all home sales! This would be a smart niche to work with if you live in an area heavily populated by baby boomers.

6. Brainstorm marketing strategies that are best suited to that audience     

When creating your real estate marketing plan, be intentional and strategic about which strategies give you the highest likelihood of meeting and connecting with your ideal clients. If it’s not aligned with your niche, don’t waste your time, energy, and money on it. Consider:

• Where they spend their time: golf courses, local parents’ groups, church, etc.
• Hobbies and interests: hiking groups, gardening, book clubs, etc.
• Social media channels: the person who’s on TikTok all day is likely not the same person who’s on Facebook or LinkedIn
• Life stage : Are they young families who have kids in school and are part of the local parents’ groups? Are they active seniors who spend time at the senior center? 

Here are some examples of marketing strategies that are aligned with each audience:

• New buyers: Use Instagram reels or TikTok videos to find new buyers, as it’s typically younger people using those social media platforms
• Baby boomers: Run Facebook ads offering a home valuation to find baby boomers looking to sell, as they’re the majority of homeowners, and many still use Facebook daily
• Buyers trading up: Join a parents’ group to find clients who are outgrowing their starter home and need a larger property  

7. Make sure your strategies are aligned with your personal brand and skill set

I see agents make this mistake all the time: they learn about a marketing strategy that worked well for someone else and decide to give it a try. After a few months, they’re discouraged and frustrated. They ask themselves: why did this work for them but not for me?

It’s all about alignment. When considering different marketing strategies (and there are literally hundreds of options out there), be sure whichever ones you choose make sense for your personality and your brand. If you enjoy networking more than cold calling, create your marketing plan around networking events. If you love writing, start a blog. Being aligned will make everything so much easier and generate much better results. 

8. Choose your budgets: money, time, and energy 

Usually the word “budget” is synonymous with money alone. I’d encourage you to set a financial budget, of course, but also set budgets for your time and your energy. Each of these is a valuable resource that needs to be tracked and measured to determine if they yield the desired results.

A note on energy management: Many agents don’t think about the importance of energy management. In my experience, managing energy is critical to avoiding burnout, staying healthy (physically and mentally), and enjoying your day-to-day life.

A quick way to assess the energy you expend working on a marketing strategy is to give yourself a score of one to 10, both before and after each marketing activity. Ask yourself before you walk into that networking event: “How’s my energy right now, from one to 10?” then ask the same question when you leave. This is simply data collection to help you start to see trends. So, when you do your next marketing strategy audit, you’ll be able to make better decisions about which strategies are worth keeping. 

9. Break down your marketing activities into monthly, weekly, and daily tasks  

Okay, now you have your marketing activities chosen, your goals set, and your budget determined. Now, it’s time to get into the action part of the plan! Start with the month — what will your monthly tasks be to get you to your goal? Then break those down into weekly and daily tasks, keeping in mind your vacations and days off (don’t forget to take time off!).

Remember to start small, with manageable daily tasks. It’s like starting any new habit. When you start small, you set yourself up for success — for an easy win. That win will motivate you to do more. Momentum will build, and over time, you’ll get into a steady rhythm with your new habit. 

10. Put your daily tasks in your calendar  

The calendar is key! This is your accountability and your reminder to do the tasks you’ve planned to do — and do them consistently. You can use a paper calendar, Google calendar, or any other tool that works for you. To stay on track, consider setting a daily, recurring reminder in your phone or using your CRM to alert you to your daily tasks (most CRMs have a task functionality with alerts).

I like to color-code my calendar, and I use green for all money-making activities.

11. Systematize tracking your output and results  

Tracking data isn’t sexy, I know. Yet it’s one of the most important parts of a solid marketing plan and will set your business up for success in future years, as you collect more and more of your own data. It’s the key to understanding at a high level what’s working and what’s not. It will allow you to save money, time, and energy down the road, as well!

My real estate marketing plan template includes a section where you can track your results. And yes, I made it simple on purpose. The simpler the tracking tool, the more likely you are to keep it updated. Remember, just like the best CRM, the best tracking tool is the one you will actually use.

12. Assess your results and tweak as necessary 

I’d recommend reviewing your results tracker quarterly, but definitely review it once per year at a minimum. Again, the goal is to save time, money, and energy and to maximize results. Don’t be afraid to pivot and adjust as you go along. 

In deciding when to pivot and adjust your marketing plan, ask yourself the following questions:

• How much time, money, and energy have I invested so far?
• What’s the return been?
• Have I given it enough time to see results? Keep in mind some things take longer than others. Geographic farming tends to take longer when you’re building a database and working by referral, whereas cold-calling and door-knocking tend to generate results faster.
• Am I enjoying this enough to continue, or is it making me miserable?

The 11 best real estate CRMs for 2024

The best free real estate CRMs for 2024 (+4 low-cost alternatives)

The 22 must-have real estate marketing tools for 2024

No matter which marketing strategies you choose to include in your plan, there are three crucial tools that you’ll need. Your tools will evolve as your business evolves, of course, but these three will get you started on the right path: 

1. A scalable CRM that’s easy to use

Most brokerages provide a CRM, but you can usually purchase your own if you prefer. When selecting the right one for you, consider how easy it is to navigate (if it’s too complicated, you likely won’t use it) and whether it provides the functionality you need.

Most agents don’t need a CRM to do anything but provide a way to communicate with their database, set up task reminders, and host a website. I’ve always used KW Command, but I’d also recommend Sierra Interactive, as it offers a powerful CRM, as well as custom-designed, SEO-driven websites.

2. Graphic design and social media tools 

I love Canva for all things design. It’s what I use for my coaching and real estate businesses. The ability to upload my brand colors and fonts for easy access makes creating social media content, Eventbrite banners, and all my marketing pieces so easy. 

For an even more comprehensive tool, Coffee & Contracts is an excellent choice for a suite of social media marketing tools that’s easy to use and also incredibly beautiful. Agent Image is one of the top website builders used by luxury agents; plus, it allows you to own your website and bring it with you if you ever change brokerages.

3. A powerful end goal and a “why” to fuel your daily grind  

To keep you going through the mundane and frustrating days, your end goal should be your ultimate dream life — how you wish to spend your days, the freedom you want, and the work you’d most enjoy. Marketing to find business to make that dream come true can be mundane, and there will be frustrating days. If your real estate marketing plan includes cold calling, there will inevitably be times when you simply don’t want to deal with another irate expired seller who’s already been called 20 times that morning.  

When your “why” is powerful enough, though, you stick with it. A “why” is that strong gut feeling, that ultimate motivation to get to your dream life. Vision boards are powerful tools to help you articulate your end goal and keep it top-of-mind. The easiest way to create a vision board is to collect words and images from magazines or printed from online that capture your goal, your “why.” Then, paste the images and words on a poster board and keep them in front of you, maybe on a wall in your office or bedroom. It’s a little old school, yes, but it works!

Creating an effective real estate marketing plan can be challenging, but if you focus on strategies that are aligned with your personal brand, skill set, and niche, you can create a plan that will carry you through your entire career.

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The Distressed Office Market Continues to Unfold Amid Stagnating Demand and Falling Property Values

Key Takeaways: 

• The average U.S. listing rate increased 1.5% year-over-year in April to $37.66 per square foot
• Up 160 basis points year-over-year, the national office vacancy rate rose to 18.3% in April
• Under-construction office space totaled 83.7 million square feet at the end of the month, of which only 3.2 million broke ground this year
• Office sales totaled $7.49 billion through April, with assets trading at $157 per foot
• San Francisco vacancy rates climb 650 basis points year-over-year to 25.9%
• None of the top Midwestern markets kicked off new construction projects in 2024
• Dallas vacancy rates increased 390 basis points, influenced by heavy construction in recent years
• Boston closed April with the largest under-construction pipeline in the U.S. at 13.9 million square feet

Trends & Industry News: Debt Service Looms Over Offices

The wave of office distress many anticipated has yet to materialize, but our latest U.S. office market report shows that many markets are exposed to potential distress.

Debt service coverage ratios — a measure of net operating income against current debt obligations — have declined for offices in recent years due to the two components of the ratio moving in opposite directions. As interest rates shot upward in the last year and a half, so did debt costs for commercial real estate. At the same time, cash flow has fallen — U.S. office vacancy rates spiked as firms downsized or eliminated physical office footprints altogether — and expenses have grown. Despite DSCRs’ downward movement, market-level average ratios show only a handful of markets exposed to widespread risk.

Using aggregated and anonymized income and expense data along with researched loan information and vacancy rates, CommercialEdge estimates market-level DSCRs for many of the metros covered by the service.

Everyone has been asking “where is this wave of distress?” The reality is that it didn’t materialize with extensions the last few years, but we are seeing an uptick, and this data shows the threat is still there in many areas. Peter Kolaczynski, Director ,  CommercialEdge

In March, five of the 91 markets analyzed by CommercialEdge had average DSCRs below 1.0: Brooklyn, N.Y. (0.81), Oklahoma City (0.89), Chicago (0.90), El Paso (0.92) and Cleveland (0.96). Another eight markets — including Manhattan (1.05), St. Louis (1.16) and Nashville (1.25) — sit at or below the 1.25 ratio that most lenders require. However, it is important to note that these market-level rates are only estimates, and DSCRs can vary vastly from property to property.

Many properties within markets with low average DSCRs continue to perform well, while properties in markets with a high average DSCR face distress. CommercialEdge has DSCR estimations at the property level to identify potential future distress situations.

The forces behind downward pressure on DSCR are unlikely to reverse in the near future, according to office real estate outlooks. Demand for offices remains stagnant as hybrid and remote work has become fully entrenched within many firms. Expense increases, like insurance and maintenance, have cooled in recent months but continue to eat into net operating incomes. Interest rate cuts may begin this summer, but in all likelihood, will not be steep enough to save properties that are teetering on the edge of distress. Office loans that mature are at greater risk of distress and delinquency because of the difficulty of generating enough cash flow to cover debt obligations in the current environment. Many in the sector have adopted the mantras of “extend and pretend” and “survive until ‘25,” hoping for circumstances to improve next year.

Listing Rates and Vacancy: Vacancies Grow Everywhere

The national average full-service equivalent listing rate was $37.66 per square foot in April, a decrease of eight cents from the previous month and 1.5% year-over-year, our latest U.S. office market report reveals.

Top Listings by Metro Area: April 2024

The national vacancy rate was 18.3%, an increase of 160 basis points year-over-year. U.S. office vacancy rates have been on the upswing in nearly every market. Tech markets have been hit the worst, with San Francisco (650 basis point increase over the last 12 months), the Bay Area (400 bps) and Seattle (400 bps) all experiencing significant increases. Markets with a high concentration of financial jobs, like Dallas (390 bps) and Charlotte (380 bps), have also seen large jumps in the last year. Even lab space centers like Boston (230 bps) and San Diego (370 bps) have seen vacancies rise despite the in-person nature of most work in the life sciences field.

Supply: New Office Starts Disappear

Nationwide, 83.7 million square feet of office were under construction as of April, representing 1.2% of stock. The office under-construction pipeline has shrunk by more than 50% in the past 18 months, as buildings have been completed and starts have slowed to a crawl.

Office Space Under Construction (Million Sq. Ft.)

Office starts have been nearly nonexistent in 2024, with just 3.2 million square feet of new space breaking ground through the end of April. While office construction began slowing in response to the shifts the pandemic brought to office utilization, some development was still occurring.

In 2023, 44.2 million square feet of office space broke ground, buoyed by the life science and medical office sectors. Now, even development for those uses has dried up. Our office real estate outlook predicts that once interest rate cuts begin, developers will slowly dip their toes back into the water, but given the current state of office demand, it may be years until there is a meaningful uptick in office starts, office real estate outlooks suggest.

Transactions: High-Quality Assets Remain in Demand

Across the U.S., a total of $7.5 billion in transactions have been logged so far this year, with properties trading at an average of $157 per foot.

Top-tier assets in quality locations remained in demand, as evidenced by Columbus Properties’ $86.1 million purchase of 24th at Camelback I. The eight-story, LEED Platinum-certified, Class A building is in one of Phoenix ’s hottest office submarkets. It marked the largest sale recorded by our database in the Phoenix market since 2022, yet the sale price was lower than the $100 million the property traded for in 2018.

2024 Year-to-Date Sales (Millions)

Western markets: san francisco vacancy rates climb 650 basis points amid declines in employment.

Tech markets in the West experienced the largest increase in U.S. office vacancy rates, with San Francisco leading at 25.9%, up 650 basis points year-over-year — the highest uptick among the top 25 U.S. office markets. Due to the tech sector’s poor performance, office employment in the city has fallen 4.9% compared to last year. The Information sector alone lost 13,000 workers in the past 12 months, representing a 10.5% drop, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

While San Francisco remained the priciest market in the West, asking rents decreased 9.3% year-over-year in April to an average of $59.30 per square foot. San Diego was the only market with a steeper decline in asking rents, falling 9.8% year-over-year to $43 per square foot. Despite being a market driven mainly by life sciences, San Diego also saw its vacancy rates rise 370 basis points over year-ago figures to 18.4%.

West Regional Highlights

In the Western region, Phoenix and Portland recorded vacancy rates below the national average of 18.3%, with Phoenix at 17.5% and Portland at 16.2%. Despite these lower vacancy rates, both markets logged some of the most affordable asking rents in the country: Phoenix's rents were $27.67 per square foot, up 120 basis points year-over-year in April, while Portland's rents declined by 7.4% over the same period to $27.22 per square foot. Across the top 25 office markets in the U.S., Minneapolis-St. Paul ($25.83 per square foot), Orlando ($24.84) and Detroit ($22.46) were the only metros with lower rates.

From a transactional perspective, the Bay Area led the region in sales volume, with $469 million in closed office deals year-to-date through April at an average of $231 per square foot. The next-largest sales volume was recorded in Phoenix, totaling $349 million, with properties trading at an average of $199 per square foot, according to our U.S. office market report.

The metro’s sales volume was boosted by Columbus Properties’ $86.1 million acquisition of a 309,400-square-foot top-tier office building at 2375 East Camelback Road. Despite being the largest sale in Phoenix since 2022, the property traded 14% below its price in 2018, when the seller, New York Life Insurance, bought it for $100 million.

With the office sector facing several challenges, from reduced demand to high interest rates, office sales nationwide have been driven by institutions selling high-quality assets to balance their portfolios , reduce their office exposure, and mitigate risk on their balance sheets. Nonetheless, the market is evolving to include owners who are selling because they are facing distress and upcoming loan maturities.

Midwestern Markets: Chicago Logs $208M in Sales Through April Amid Distress Hitting the Market

While borrowers often adopt the "extend and pretend" approach, a loan extension wasn't enough to save Pennsylvania-based Pembroke IV from a $25 million foreclosure lawsuit. The company failed to pay off debt tied to a six-story building at 2001 York Road in Chicago .

The property was first added to the pool of distressed offices in January 2023, after Pembroke hadn’t paid off its loan by December 2022. At the time, the loan was modified, and the maturity date was pushed to March 31 , 2024, but the extension didn’t make a difference, according to Crain’s . The building was only 58% leased for most of last year, and its net cash flow hadn't been sufficient to cover Pembroke's debt service for the past two years.

Midwest Regional Highlights

As of March, Chicago had $6.8 billion of maturing loans through 2024, representing 19.4% of the market's total loan volume, our data shows. Meanwhile, the market’s vacancy rate stood at 19.1%, up just 30 basis points year-over-year in April, and rents contracted by 20 basis points, coming in at $27.85 per square foot — the sixth-lowest asking rent across the top 25 U.S. office markets.

Despite the market’s weak fundamentals, electronics company Littelfuse is relocating its headquarters to the distressed Riverway office complex in Rosemont. This complex faced a $115 million foreclosure lawsuit last summer, the largest ever filed against a suburban Chicago office. Littelfuse will occupy 53,000 square feet in the Riverway complex by the end of the year.

Typically, lenders try to sell distressed properties rather than invest in renovations and leasing efforts. However, with falling demand and reduced property prices, some lenders are opting to play the long game to recover some of the lost value.

Year-to-date through April, Chicago logged $208 million in office sales at an average price of $81 per square foot. Next up, the Twin Cities saw $177 million in closed office deals at an average of $163 per square foot, while Detroit recorded a small volume of $43 million, with properties trading at $76 per square foot.

Looking at construction activity, none of the Midwestern markets saw new construction starts in 2024. Nonetheless, as of April, Chicago had 1.03 million square feet under construction, accounting for 0.3% of its inventory. Meanwhile, Detroit had 524,000 square feet underway, equal to 0.4% of the market's stock. The Twin Cities had only 35,666 square feet under development in April.

Southern Markets: Heavy Development in Recent Years Continues to Put Upward Pressure on Vacancy Rates in Texas Markets

In the South, markets with a high concentration of financial jobs experienced the largest increases in office vacancy rates. For example, office availabilities in Dallas rose by 390 basis points to 21.1% year-over-year in April — the third highest in the nation. Similarly, vacancy rates in Charlotte increased by 380 basis points to 15.6% over the same period but remained well below the 18.3% national average.

Overall, the highest vacancy rate in the Southern region was recorded in Houston at 23.6%, followed by Austin at 22.4%. Despite the Lone Star State's early reopening after the pandemic and a surge in corporate relocations driving return-to-office movements, Houston, Austin and Dallas still have some of the largest vacancies among the top 25 U.S. office markets.

South Regional Highlights

The rise in vacancies, despite healthy economic fundamentals, can be attributed to extensive development in recent years. As of April, Dallas had the third-largest new supply pipeline in the country by square footage, with 4.9 million square feet under construction, representing 1.8% of the metro's existing inventory.

Austin followed with 4.1 million square feet under development, equal to 4.4% of its stock. Across the Texas Triangle, Houston had the lowest new supply pipeline as of April, with 1.7 million square feet underway, accounting for 0.7% of its inventory.

Washington, D.C ., led the Southern markets in terms of sales, with $937 million in closed office deals through April. Dallas was next, with office transactions totaling $357 million through the first four months of the year. Meanwhile, Austin led the region in sale prices, with properties trading at an average of $401 per square foot. Washington, D.C., and Miami followed with average prices of $345 per square foot and $279 per square foot, respectively.

Miami remained the most expensive office market in the South in terms of asking rents, closing April with a $49 per square foot average. Austin ($42.25 per square foot) and Washington, D.C. ($40.59 per square foot) followed with asking rents above the $37.66 national average. In contrast, Orlando ($24.84) and Dallas ($28.56) recorded the lowest rates in the region.

Northeastern Markets: Manhattan Leads the Region in Sales with Just $290 Million in Closed Office Deals

Four months into the year, sales activity in the Northeast remained slow, with only $884 million in office deals closed across the region’s leading markets. Manhattan led with $290 million in transactions, followed by New Jersey with $280 million. Boston saw $223 million in closed office deals, while Philadelphia logged just $92 million in transactions year-to-date through April.

As a major life science hub, Boston continues to experience higher development activity than any other market in the U.S. As of April, the metro area had 13.9 million square feet of office space under construction, representing 5.6% of its inventory. Although Boston 's development pipeline decreased by 8% compared to the same period last year, when it accounted for 6.1% of inventory, it remains significantly higher on a percentage-of-stock basis than the national pipeline of 1.2%.

Northeast Regional Highlights

Despite being a life science hub, Boston saw a 230-basis point increase in vacancy rates, marking the second-largest uptick in availability after Philadelphia’s 280-basis point rise. At the same time, Manhattan ’s office vacancy rate grew by 80 basis points year-over-year in April, while New Jersey saw a 150-basis point increase.

Manhattan continued to post the steepest asking rent in the U.S., closing April at $69.72 per square foot. Following Manhattan, Boston was the second-most expensive office market in the Northeast, with an average asking rent of $46.62 per square foot. Meanwhile, New Jersey's and Philadelphia 's rents were $35.40 per square foot and $31.88 per square foot, respectively.

Office-Using Employment: Employment Declines in the Information Sector

Office-using sectors of the labor market lost 6,000 jobs in the month of April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The information sector lost 8,000 workers, and professional and business services lost 4,000. Financial activities were the only office-using sector that grew in April, adding 6,000 workers on the month. Office-using employment has been stagnant during the past year, growing only 0.4% in the past 12 months. The annual growth rate has not topped 1% since last June. The information sector has been the worst performer of the bunch, declining 1.3% over the past 12 months.

Office Using Employment

Download the PDF report to view more, including the map for office-using employment growth.

You can also see our previous office reports.  

Methodology 

This report covers office buildings 25,000 square feet and above. CommercialEdge subscribers have access to more than 14,000,000 property records and 300,000 listings for a continually growing list of markets.  

CommercialEdge collects listing rate and occupancy data using proprietary methods.  

Listing Rates — Listing Rates are full-service rates or “full-service equivalent” for spaces that were available as of the report period. CommercialEdge uses aggregated and anonymized expense data to create full-service equivalent rates from triple-net and modified gross listings. Expense data is available to CommercialEdge subscribers. National average listing rate is for the top 50 markets covered by CommercialEdge.  

Vacancy — The total square feet vacant in a market, including subleases, divided by the total square feet of office space in that market. Owner-occupied buildings are not included in vacancy calculations.  

A and A+/Trophy buildings have been combined for reporting purposes.  

Stage of the supply pipeline:  

Planned — Buildings that are currently in the process of acquiring zoning approval and permits but have not yet begun construction.  

Under Construction — Buildings for which construction and excavation has begun.  

Office-Using Employment is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as including the sectors Information, Financial Activities, and Professional and Business Services. Employment numbers are representative of the Metropolitan Statistical Area and do not necessarily align exactly with CommercialEdge market boundaries.  

Sales volume and price-per-square-foot calculations for portfolio transactions or those with unpublished dollar values are estimated using sales comps based on similar sales in the market and submarket, use type, location and asset ratings, sale date and property size.  

Year-to-date metrics and data include the time period between January 1 of the current year through the month prior to publishing the report.    

Market boundaries in the CommercialEdge office report coincide with the ones defined by the CommercialEdge Markets Map and may differ from regional boundaries defined by other sources. 

Fair Use and Redistribution

We encourage you and freely grant you permission to reuse, host, or repost the research, graphics, and images presented in this article. When doing so, we ask that you credit our research by linking to CommercialEdge.com or this page, so that your readers can learn more about this project, the research behind it and its methodology. For more in-depth, customized data, please contact us at [email protected] .

Correction:

A previous version of this report stated that the national office vacancy rate was 18.8% as of April. The actual figure was 18.3%.

• Listing Rates and Vacancy
• Transactions
• Office-Using Employment
• Trends and Industry News
• Downloadable Report
• Methodology

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Evelyn Jozsa

Evelyn is a creative writer covering commercial real estate trends and insights in the u.s. evelyn was previously a senior associate editor at multi-housing news and commercial property executive. she has an academic background in journalism and irish studies. evelyn has been covering the cre industry since 2017. reach her via email ., recent reports.

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