NAR 2025 Q1 VACANCY REPORT

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Most commercial deals don’t fail because of one big issue—they fail because of small things that were never verified. Below are the most overlooked due diligence items and exactly what to do about each.

Negotiating a commercial lease isn’t about “winning” or “losing.” It’s about understanding the levers available to both the tenant and the landlord—and using them strategically so both parties walk away feeling confident in the deal.

Too often, lease negotiations focus narrowly on rental rate. While rent matters, it’s only one piece of a much larger equation.

In commercial real estate leasing and investment, one clause often determines whether a deal is financeable, enforceable, and ultimately secure: the guaranty.

Whether you are a landlord, tenant, investor, broker, or lender, understanding personal guarantees and corporate guarantees is critical to protecting your interests in commercial leases, purchase agreements, and real estate contracts.

A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care under the law. It requires an agent to act in your best interest at all times, even when doing so may not benefit them personally. One of the clearest ways to understand these obligations is through the OLD CAR acronym.

One of the clearest ways to evaluate a property’s intrinsic value is through the D.U.S.T. framework, which stands for Demand, Utility, Scarcity, and Transferability. This approach, rooted in real estate appraisal, helps investors, developers, and brokers understand what truly makes a property valuable in any market environment.

Commercial Real Estate (CRE) is any property used for business operations—whether that’s generating income, running a company, housing inventory, or providing professional services. Unlike residential real estate, which focuses on where people live, CRE focuses on where people work and where money is made.

Understanding CRE gives investors, business owners, and landlords a major advantage. Here’s a straightforward breakdown of what commercial real estate is, how it works, and how it differs from residential.