Commercial listing audit: why is my listing not getting inquiries?

Why is my commercial listing not getting inquiries?

Across the more than 1,000 live commercial-for-lease listings we track in Metro Vancouver, the listings that sit share the same faults: an asking rate above the 75th percentile for the type and city, missing facts (about half the listings do not state additional rent), fewer than five photos and no floor plan, one platform only, and slow replies. The audit above scores your listing on 20 checks across those five areas and puts the three fixes worth the most points first.

Price: the 15 points most owners lose

Tenants and their brokers sort by rate. A listing above the 75th percentile for its type and city is competing with the best-located, best-improved quarter of the market, and unless yours is one of those it will be skipped. The audit pulls the live p25, median and p75 for your inputs and scores price automatically; the lease rate estimator adjusts that range for condition and features, and the vacancy cost calculator shows what each month of holding out costs.

Information and presentation: what a tenant needs before calling

A commercial tenant qualifies a space on paper before they call. Measured area, base rent and additional rent stated per square foot, the zone and permitted uses, clear height, power, loading, parking, availability date and preferred term: if any of these are missing, the tenant assumes the answer is bad. A dimensioned floor plan is the most-downloaded attachment on commercial listings. Ten or more photos with the exterior, the street and the interior let a tenant judge frontage and access, and a 3D walkthrough or video is how out-of-town and busy tenants shortlist. For spaces we lease, we shoot the video and the walkthrough at no extra charge.

Reach and response

One platform is not a marketing plan. MLS/realtor.ca reaches tenant representatives, and it is the one channel an owner cannot add alone: only real estate board members can list there. David has his own MLS access, which most property managers do not; SpaceList and LoopNet are the commercial-only search sites; Craigslist and Kijiji still carry most owner-direct listings in Metro Vancouver and reach owner-operator tenants; a sign with a phone number catches neighbours and passing operators. A stated broker co-operation fee is how tenant reps get paid to show your space. Then the part nobody scores: replies within 24 hours, showings within 48, and an offer-to-lease and credit form ready so a good tenant can commit on the spot. Our guide on how to find a tenant for your commercial property covers each channel.

What it costs and how long it takes

Fixing the listing yourself costs time and a few hundred dollars for a floor plan and photos. If you hand the leasing to a specialist, market leasing commissions in Metro Vancouver are commonly 4–6% of total lease value or about one month's rent per year of term (published rate cards from Metro Vancouver managers, 2025–26); David's leasing fee is typically the first and last months' rent on the lease, and ongoing management is quoted per property, and the video and walkthrough are included. See commercial leasing services and commercial property management fees in Vancouver. A listing that scores 80 or better and is priced at the median typically signs in 60–120 days in this market; industrial faster, with brokerage market reports (2025) putting availability around 3–4%.

Vancouver specifics

• State the zone. Vancouver's C-2, C-3A, I-1, I-2 and IC zones and the suburbs' CD zones each permit different uses. Tenants search by what they are allowed to do, not by the word "commercial".
• Additional rent varies by municipality. City of Vancouver Class 6 (business) tax was about 1.05% of assessed value in 2025 (check the current mill rate); a listing that states additional rent removes the tenant's biggest unknown.
• GST applies to commercial rent; PST does not. Quote rates before GST and say so.

See the portfolio for listings we have built this way, including the Castle Armory & Residence at 1496 Rupert St in North Vancouver (8,003 sq ft live/work, MLS C8077795). Weighing a sale instead? Sell or tenant compares both.

General information. The audit scores what you tell it; it does not fetch or check your listing. Benchmarks are asking rates from public listings and change daily.