Commercial real estate prospecting: how brokers find tenants and owners by area

Commercial real estate prospecting works best when you list every business operating in the corridor or submarket you cover, sort them by the space they use, and contact each one with a reason that fits its situation: it's growing, its lease is coming up, or a better space has opened. Google Maps gives you the tenants: every business in a drawn area, with category, phone and website. Property owners come from county assessor and recorder records, and lease dates mostly come from asking. Track all three in one sheet and the list becomes a calendar of deals.

Who are you prospecting: tenants or owners?#

CRE brokers prospect two groups with different data sources. Tenant rep and leasing work starts with the businesses; listing and investment sales start with the property owners.

Most brokers need both lists. An owner-occupied building links them: the business is the tenant and, through an LLC, often the owner.

How do I list every business in a submarket?#

Draw the area you cover, search each category inside it, and export. A submarket rarely follows city limits, so draw it as a polygon around the corridor, business park or downtown blocks you work.

1. Draw the submarket as a polygon or radius, or load a KML file of its boundary.
2. Pick the categories that use your property type. Retail: restaurants, cafes, salons, boutiques, gyms. Office: law firms, accountants, insurance agencies, financial advisors, engineering firms. Medical office: dentists, physical therapists, chiropractors, clinics. Industrial: warehouses, distributors, manufacturers, contractors' yards.
3. Search category by category in pieces. One Google Maps search stops at about 120 results (why).
4. Export business, category, address, phone, website, rating, reviews and hours.
5. Add your own columns: building, suite, estimated size, lease expiration, renewal options, decision-maker, last contact.

For a sense of scale before you start, the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns counts establishments by industry and employee size for each county, and ZIP Code Business Patterns gives establishment totals by ZIP code. If CBP says your county has 400 dental offices and your county-wide list has 150, you're missing categories, keywords or areas. Our guide to getting a list of all businesses in an area covers the sources in more detail.

What growth signals show a business may need new space?#

Look for signs that a business is outgrowing its space or expanding into new markets. None proves a move; each is a reason to call.

Review growth needs two snapshots. Export your submarket, export it again three or six months later, and compare the reviews column per business. It's a rough proxy, but it's free and it covers every business in the area.

New businesses deserve their own feed. A company that just opened may be in a short-term space, and new arrivals show where demand is moving. The Census Bureau's Business Formation Statistics publishes business application counts by state and county, which show where formation is rising. To find the businesses themselves, see how to find new businesses in your area.

How do I track lease timing?#

Ask, and write it down. Most private commercial leases aren't public, so the expiration date usually comes from the tenant.

A simple working rhythm (our rule of thumb, not an industry standard):

• First contact: ask when the lease is up and whether it has renewal options. Many leases set a deadline for exercising an option, so ask for that date too.
• 18 to 12 months before expiration: start the conversation about needs. Larger moves take longer to plan and build out.
• Before the option deadline: make sure the tenant knows its choices, renew, renegotiate or move, before the window closes.
• After a decision: record the new expiration. Next time it's already on your calendar.

Some commercial data subscriptions estimate lease expirations. Treat those as a hint and confirm with the tenant.

How do I find the owner of a commercial property?#

Look up the parcel in county records. The county assessor (or property appraiser) lists the owner of record for each parcel, usually with a mailing address for tax bills, and the recorder or clerk holds deeds and mortgages. Most US counties offer an online parcel search.

Many commercial buildings are owned by LLCs. To find the people behind one:

1. Search the LLC in the state's business entity database (usually the Secretary of State).
2. Note the registered agent, and the managers or members if the state lists them.
3. Check the mailing address on the tax record. It often points to the owner's office.

We cover the state-by-state details in how to find the owner of an LLC and how to find the owner of a business. Google Maps doesn't show property owners; it shows the businesses operating at an address.

What should my outreach say?#

Lead with a fact about their business or building and ask one easy question.

Email to a growing tenant#

Subject: {{business}}'s space in {{city}}

Hi {{first_name}},

I work on office and medical leases in {{submarket}}. I noticed
{{business}} has a few roles open and your reviews have nearly
doubled since spring, which usually means the space gets tight.

When is your current lease up? Even if it's two years out, I can
send you what comparable space is going for nearby so you have a
benchmark.

[Name] · [Brokerage] · [License no.] · [Postal address]
Reply "no" and I won't write again.

Phone opener for a retail tenant#

"Hi, could I speak to the owner? ... I'm [Name] with [Brokerage]. I
cover retail on [corridor]. I'm not calling about a specific space
today. When does your lease come up, so I can check in a year before
with what's available?"

For email lists by category, our cold email templates for local businesses has more starting points.

A worked example#

An illustration, with invented response rates: a tenant rep broker draws a polygon around a suburban medical corridor and searches dentists, physical therapists, chiropractors, clinics and med spas. The export has 260 businesses. A pass over careers pages and review counts flags 45 with growth signals. Contacting all 260 over a quarter, at an assumed 20% who share a lease date, gives about 50 recorded expirations. If six of those fall in the next 18 months, that's six timed conversations a year from one corridor, and the list keeps working as the other dates come due.

What rules apply to CRE outreach?#

Brokering leases or sales for others requires a state real estate license; most states don't issue a separate commercial license, but rules differ, so check with your state real estate commission. For email, CAN-SPAM applies to commercial email to businesses: honest sender and subject lines, a postal address, and an opt-out honored within 10 business days. Most business-to-business calls are exempt from the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule. Google's Maps terms restrict scraping Maps content and building lead lists from it, which is a contract matter separate from those laws. Read cold email laws and get legal advice.

FAQ#

How do commercial real estate brokers find tenants?#

They list every business in the submarket or corridor they cover, by the property types they lease (office, retail, industrial, medical), then contact the decision-maker with a reason tied to the business's situation: growth, a lease coming up, or a better location. Tenant rep brokers also watch for businesses that are hiring, opening new locations or outgrowing their space.

How do I find out when a business's lease expires?#

Ask. Lease expiration dates aren't public for most private leases. On the first call, ask when the lease is up and whether they have renewal options, record the date, and plan to talk again 12 to 18 months before it. Some commercial data subscriptions estimate lease dates, but confirm them with the tenant.

How do I find the owner of a commercial property?#

Look up the parcel in the county assessor or recorder records, which list the owner of record and often a mailing address. If the owner is an LLC, search the state's business entity records for its registered agent and, in some states, its managers or members.

What are signs a business needs more space?#

Open job postings, a second location, a review count growing faster than its neighbors, long waits or "by appointment only" notes, and a move from a home address to a storefront. None proves a move is coming; each is a reason to ask.

Can I use Google Maps to prospect for commercial real estate?#

For tenants, yes: Google Maps lists the businesses operating in an area with category, phone and website. It doesn't show property owners, lease terms or square footage, so combine it with county records for owners and your own notes for leases. Note that Google's Maps terms restrict scraping and building lead lists from Maps content.

Sources#

1. US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns and ZIP Code Business Patterns (establishments by industry and size for counties; totals by ZIP code).
2. US Census Bureau, Business Formation Statistics and county-level data.
3. Federal Trade Commission, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business.
4. Federal Trade Commission, Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
5. Google, Google Maps Platform Terms of Service, section 3.2.3.