Dispelling the Myths about the Commercial Property Market

Published
by
lauren
on November 20, 2008
in Agents
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We are often asked by commercial property agents whether NovaLoca is an appropriate tool for marketing their commercial property. The answer is simple: Yes! NovaLoca lists any type of commercial property whether it is an industrial unit or office space, or even a petrol station, laboratory or a hotel. However, these queries lead us to dig a bit deeper. We have analysed property enquiries made via NovaLoca over recent months and discovered some interesting trends relating to enquiries about properties of different sizes and locations.

Commercial Property Details
 

% of all property enquiries on NovaLoca

Commercial buildings over 4000 sq ft

35

Commercial buildings under 4000 sq ft

65

Larger buildings often get better representation in online and printed commercial property marketing thanks to their larger advertising budgets. 35% of leads generated via NovaLoca for clients have been for commercial buildings of over 4,000 sq ft suggesting NovaLoca is good place to market larger properties. However, NovaLoca is also proving very beneficial for smaller units where marketing budgets may be much less. Properties with a floor space of less than 4000 sq ft currently account for the remaining 65% of enquiries made via NovaLoca. At just £50 per listing for six months marketing commercial property on NovaLoca offers great value especially for these smaller properties.

Commercial Property Details  

% of all property enquiries on NovaLoca

Commercial properties in the North

46

Commercial properties in the South

54 

NovaLoca’s nationwide coverage is also proving attractive to agents across the UK with commercial property to market. Since January this year, 46% of enquiries through NovaLoca have been for properties in the North, with 54% relating to those in the South. As northern cities such as Manchester and Birmingham become increasing recognised as centres of business it may be expected that the gap between the north and south commercial property market will close further.

Miranda Munn, Managing Director of NovaLoca, also noticed “a 27% month-on-month fall in enquiries via NovaLoca in October as the industry appeared to hold its breath with front-page news of the financial markets going into free-fall. However, now half way through November the number of enquiries is already increasing again to near-normal levels”. She went on to note that while agents are likely to have searched for property for their clients with some urgency during October as the economic downturn hit the headlines, that the majority of enquiries on NovaLoca come direct from commercial occupiers rather than property agents. Therefore, the website’s statistics are likely to represent a true picture of the overall mood of occupiers across the UK.

Smaller units and those in the North have become more popular in recent weeks, but only time will tell if these movements are the beginning of a longer-term trend.

For further information, please visit www.novaloca.com or call 0845 094 7902.

What is Commercial Property in Manchester Looking like?

Published
by
lauren
on November 10, 2008
in Agents and Buyers
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Commonly regarded as the centre of trade and commerce for the North West of England, Manchester has been placed among the top 20 “best cities to locate a business today” by European Cities Monitor. Additional research by Cushman and Wakefield found that Manchester has retained its position from 2007 as the UK’s second most business friendly city (after London) in the 2008 UK’s Cities Monitor.

Manchester was found to perform particularly well in being an ideal location for company headquarters as well as back office functions, whilst the research also went on to conclude that Manchester can expect the second largest (again after London) influx of companies locating there over the next five years meaning that the need for new commercial property is set to increase.

With predictions like this it is no wonder that companies such as the Co-op bank are investing in Manchester’s commercial property market.

Birds Eye ViewSo commercial property in Manchester is looking good and set to rise. But what does it actually look like? Well with  Birds’ Eye imagery of the Greater Manchester region available on NovaLoca’s property maps you can now find out as you view Manchester commercial property from the north, south, east and west at a 45° angle; clearly view what the location is like as well as the building itself.

Commercial Property MapAerial and road view imagery which is also available on NovaLoca’s maps allows the user to discover the wider area. With all the properties shown on one map with a summary of their details, properties can be easily compared. Other map features include local area information which will allow you to discover the location of the nearest primary and secondary schools and day care nurseries, and an in map search tool so you can alter your search criteria without leaving the map. The result: you can discover exactly what commercial property in Manchester looks like.

Contact us to find out more about finding your new property in Manchester with NovaLoca.com.

Choosing Commercial Property? Have You Considered Everything?

Published
by
lauren
on November 10, 2008
in Buyers
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Whether you are starting a new business or relocating an established one, choosing the right commercial property is important but just as important is where the property is located.

Have you considered all the factors to making the right choice? The European Cities Monitor by Cushman and Wakefield highlights the following as being key factors when choosing where to locate your business. The two most important were concluded as being:

· The availability of a qualified workforce – are the right people with the right skills living in the area your company will be based?

· Quality telecommunications – does the area have sufficient internet bandwidth and speed and good mobile phone coverage?

Other factors worthy of consideration include:

· Access to markets, customers and clients – is your market located nearby or can they reach you easily?

· Access to national and international transport links – if you have goods to transport, do you have access to reliable transport links whether road, rail, air or ferry?

Factors given lesser importance overall by the survey, but which may be worth considering include:

· Value for money of the commercial property

· The climate local government creates for business, e.g. tax, financial incentives etc.

· Availability of office space

· Cost of staff

· Quality of life and freedom from pollution

Although the importance you place on each of these factors will depend on the type of business you have as well as its size, they are all worth considering as getting it wrong will be expensive both financially and in terms of time.

Browse By Region

NovaLoca’s ‘Browse by Region’ function gives a brief overview of the counties in the UK covering some of the points listed above and providing a starting place for your research. To get an understanding of the commercial property on offer in a given region or to find a property in your preferred location use NovaLoca’s easy search and discover a comprehensive list of industrial units, offices, retail spaces or land available in that region. By viewing the property on an interactive map, which include local area information and road, aerial and bird’s eye view imagery you can get a full visual experience of the property – a great tool if you are not currently located near to where you are looking for property.

To find out more about finding your next commercial property with NovaLoca.com then visit the site or contact us.

Recessions, Credit Crunch, Downturn

Published
by
gini
on October 27, 2008
in Company News
. 0 Comments

What does it all mean to you and your company? How will the global decisions actually affect you? What about your company or your family?

With companies daily announcing mass redundancies, is the future all doom and gloom?

There are so many questions to be answered with very few answers. However, there is one question which may have an answer: Should we stand in line and wait to see what happens or should we step out of line and take another approach, is now the time to be innovative and start thinking outside the box?

The answer: There has never been a better time.

It is time to embrace the technology available to us all and not let the fear of the unknown be a hindrance to making the most of what it has to offer. You don’t need to be a techno guru to make technology work for you. All you need is the vision of what you want to achieve, techno guru’s are ten to the dozen and are available to help you make the dream become a reality.

A reliance on old methods to reach customers may mean you struggle unnecessarily as you fight to get your business through these challenging financial times. Even if they do manage to see you though there’s a chance that you will have been left behind in your market place. Businesses that are innovative now and find new ways to bring their products and services to market have more channels through which to attract customers which will benefit them now, as well as in the future. Utilising the latest technology, in particular web based technology, is just one medium that will open up a host of new marketing channels.

From the outset Novaloca.com aimed to be a company at the forefront of technology, using it to open the channels to property occupiers and make marketing commercial property easy. The site you see today is the product of that commitment: NovaLoca is a company that has its finger on the button and isn’t afraid to push it again and again.

The latest button to be pressed resulted in NovaLoca taking on the internet giant that is Google and winning! Having released Street View across America, Google have been developing this technology for London for some time, but they have now been beaten to it following the implementation of Street Level View imagery (collected by Seety) in NovaLoca’s maps which allows user to ‘walk’ the streets of central London from their PC.

Companies thinking outside the box and investing in innovation differentiate themselves from their competition and gets them noticed. When companies are noticed in this way the result is more website traffic, more customers seeing the product or service on offer and as a result more leads to deals are generated meaning companies are in a better position to ride out hard economic times. Innovations and new tools like Street Level View stand out from the old.

If NovaLoca had announced it was going to take on the Google you probably would have thought them mad, but with a belief in their innovation and a willingness to push the boundaries of technology they took up the challenge and won. THE END!

Choosing a Commercial Property Agent? What Do You Need To Consider?

Published
by
Christin
on October 27, 2008
in Agents and Buyers
. 0 Comments

In today’s complex property market and economic climate, choosing the right commercial property agent is a crucial decision. With so many agents out there looking for your business property owners are often at a loss about how to select the one that will meet their particular needs. So what needs to be considered?

Business Link is a nationwide organisation offering resources to businesses and they suggest the following points are key:

  • Trading history – how successfully have they marketed property in the past?
  • Knowledge – how well do they know the property market in your area?
  • Financial security – will they still be there next week, next month?
  • Reputation – do they come recommended?
  • Portfolio – have they found occupiers for similar properties to yours in the past?
  • Willingness – are they keen to market your property?

Read their full document here for more information.

Although this is a comprehensive list, one additional point could be added:

  • Marketing strategy - how are agents planning to market your property?

Being a commercial property search engine, NovaLoca.com is in contact with many commercial property agents every day and can see the varied levels of effort agents put in to marketing properties for their clients. Therefore it is essential for the property owner to understand exactly what the agent plans to do to find an occupier for their property as quickly and as cost effectively as possible. Do not be afraid to ask them the plan and hold them accountable to it.

Some marketing methods agents may use include:

  • Direct mailing/leaflet drops
  • Emails
  • Fax
  • Printed press/ online press
  • Agents’ web site
  • Online property search engines

So you know what the options for marketing methods are, but how effective are they? Some useful questions to ask include:

  • How many people will see the property details?
  • How easy is it for an occupier to contact the agent about your property?
  • What information is given to the occupier about the property?
  • Can they see the property on a map, virtual tour or photograph?
  • Which method generates the most leads and is most cost effective?

Our experience has shown that traditional methods of direct mailing property details, sending emails and printed press are becoming less effective when marketing commercial property as occupiers increasingly begin their property search online. Therefore make sure the agent you choose to market your property is using the latest available technology to find an occupier.

For more information about what NovaLoca can do to help market commercial property contact us.

View London’s Commercial Property In Street Level View with NovaLoca’s Maps

Published
by
brian
on October 17, 2008
in Agents, Buyers and Company News
. 2 Comments

NovaLoca once again stay well ahead of the game in using web technology to market commercial property online. We have now launched Street Level View in our maps of central London; not only is this a first for us but it is also a first for the UK as we have beaten Google to it! Our thanks goes to the developers at Earthware for their latest property mapping solution and Seety the imagery providers.

To try out street level views for yourself, try the links below to some famous London landmarks:

It has always been our belief here at NovaLoca that being able to see a property makes choosing deciding to view it much easier for the occupier and as a result providing this information makes marketing commercial property easy for agents. Photographs can do this although often can not show the entire property. This is why we have invested in the latest in mapping technology on NovaLoca.com; the Aerial and Bird Eye imagery used as standard in the maps is the best available from Microsoft Virtual Earth and means occupiers can not only see what the property looks like, but they can also see what is around it - parking spaces and transport links for example. This added information makes the decision even easier.

But we knew we could go further in the quality and details of information that could be provided to occupiers and that is exactly what we have now done. The addition of Street Level View for central London in the maps allows occupiers to not just see a location from above but also fully experience it as they ‘walk’ the streets around a property they are interested in and find the local shop, nearest tube station or park where employers can take a break and eat their lunch. And all these added advantages for occupiers means commercial property agents jobs are made easier too.

If you want to find out more about finding your next commercial property on NovaLoca or if you have a commercial office, industrial unit or retail space to market or simply want to discover more about Street Level View then please contact us.

NovaLoca Maps Set To Become the UK’s First to Have Street Level View!

Published
by
lauren
on October 13, 2008
in Agents, Buyers and Company News
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Calling all those interested in innovative ideals! NovaLoca, the UK’s best commercial property search engine will, in the next few days, become the site of the UK’s first implementation of Street Level View images and all before Google© release Street View images in their UK maps.

To bring Street Level View to the commercial market, NovaLoca teamed up with the small innovative Italian company Seety, specialists in taking, processing and mapping images of city streets. Having already mapped many Italian cities in this way, Seety added central London to the list earlier this year and it is this latest imagery that is to be added to NovaLoca’s existing mapping feature.

Commercial property occupiers will now have the option to search for their ideal property using the existing map features of in-map searching and aerial, hybrid and Bird’s Eye imagery but now with Street Level View they will also be able to ‘stand’ in front of the property, see the one next door and take a ‘walk’ to the nearest tube station or shop. To put it simply, NovaLoca will be making it even easier for occupiers to find property and best of all, this new technology means less time will be wasted, for both occupier and agent, on site visits which do not result in a sale or let.

For those of you concerned about privacy, as standard practise Seety are careful about the resolution the images are taken in, to ensure a high quality picture to the user but one which does not make people easily identifiable. In addition to this they review each of the thousands of images they collect and blur out all faces and car registration plates that may have still been visible.

At NovaLoca we are really excited about how this latest development will make marketing commercial property even easier for agents as well as being the first company to be doing this. Keep an eye on this blog for the announcement of the release of Street Level View in our maps and in the mean time if you want to find out more about this exciting development or about marketing your commercial property with NovaLoca please do contact a member of the team on 0844 3575 260 or email info@novaloca.com.

66 Trillion Emails Sent a Year but Are Yours Being Read?

Published
by
Christin
on September 25, 2008
in Agents
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It is probably more important now than it has ever been to make the most of any means of communication with clients whether it is over a quiet drink at a trade show, a telephone call whilst in the office or sending them a quick email.

According to one article by NM Hancock over 66 trillion emails were sent in 2006 to over (an estimated) 1.2 billion email users indicating that for businesses this could be a very cost effective marketing tool. However, as the article goes on to state, making the most of this can be difficult. With so many emails being sent how do you make sure yours is the one that is read? The potential of email marketing may have been under-valued in the past due to the quality of the leads they generate. However in today’s credit crunching market using email as a marketing tool is a no-brainer! If you get it right, make it interesting and get your message across, you could be on to a winner. The article gives some useful tips about how this can be done including personalising the email, keeping it simple and promoting your main messages in the most viewed places. We have also discussed how emails can be used when marketing commercial property on this blog.

In our email communications with clients we have found it useful to include links to pages on the site which demonstrate what the email is about, e.g. their property listings or NovaLoca’s interactive maps. As the saying goes, a picture paints a thousand words: Compelling, visual content will engage a recipient increasing the chance that they will read your email and therefore, making it possible and more likely that they will follow your call to action.

One of the aims of commercial property search engine, NovaLoca, is to make marketing commercial property easy for agents. One way we have done this is by allowing interested occupiers to contact the agent via telephone and email directly from the site and it is working. To date NovaLoca has generated over 15,000 telephone and email leads for commercial property agents who list their property on the site. To find out how you can benefit from marketing your commercial property on NovaLoca and start receiving some of these telephone and email leads give us a call on 0844 3575 260 or email christin@novaloca.com

Commercial Property Finder NovaLoca Beat Bolt & Google at Offices 08!!

Published
by
admin
on September 23, 2008
in Agents, Buyers and Company News
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Well, we have now returned from Offices 08 and hopefully managed to see some of you there. If not then keep an eye out on the blog for announcements of when we will next be on the road and hopefully we will have the opportunity to see you then!

If we did not see you, you missed out on the NovaLoca team making an great impact as they told delegates all about how Novaloca is ‘making it easy’ to market commercial property online. We even went to extreme lengths to demonstrate that updating property listings can be managed in less time than it took Bolt to run the 200m Olympic final, not only causing much amusement but also proving the point! It really couldn’t be easier to take full advantage of what NovaLoca can offer to both agents and occupiers.

Standing out in our polo shirts emblazoned with ‘NovaLoca: Making It Easy’, the enthusiasm and dedication of the NovaLoca team was evident for all to see and somewhat infectious too. A thoroughly enjoyable couple of days were had by all, as well as being effective in continuing to raise the profile of NovaLoca. In fact we were surprised (and delighted) at the number of people who said to us, “I know you, you’re NovaLoca”, proving that we are now being recognised more and more within the commercial property industry; a great achievement in such a short amount of time.     

NovaLoca also announced at Offices 08 that it’s already impressive mapping facility with aerial and Bird’s Eye (where it’s available) imagery is to be further enhanced with the addition of Street Level views of central London. This new imagery will be released in the coming weeks, will be the first UK commercial implementation of this latest in mapping technology and is set to be released ahead of Google’s UK “Street View” imagery furthering NovaLoca’s commitment to using the latest in web technology to making marketing commercial property easy for agents and finding commercial property easy for occupiers.

With announcements such as this, NovaLoca fully believe in our claim of being the best commercial property search engine in the UK and to date there have been no challenges to this!

EPC’s are you ready?

Published
by
gini
on September 22, 2008
in Agents
. 0 Comments

Energy Performance Certificates

In a statement on 17 September 2008, David Collett, CEO of Green CO2 said:

“In a little over two weeks, Commercial Energy Performance Certificates will become mandatory when any commercial building is constructed, sold or put up for lease.
Yet the numbers of EPC’s currently being processed in anticipation of this new regulation is worryingly low, which means there is a real risk that come 1 October, many people responsible for commercial buildings will all rush at once to order an EPC thereby creating a backlog for the commercial assessors to deal with and possibly incurring the fine attached to this regulation for non compliance.

Click here to read the full story

The advice from NovaLoca is to act now! Try and avoid becoming part of the backlog when landlords, agents, and owners all rush to get that all important certificate for their commercial property. If you fail to then you might run the risk of being hit with a fine (currently £750 plus a hefty 12.5% of rateable value) and potentially having a vital sale of that office block or lease deal delayed.