When It's Time to Rethink Your Leasing Strategy
In a market as active as Salt Lake City industrial real estate, vacancy should not be the norm. The Salt Lake Valley has posted positive net absorption for twelve consecutive quarters. If your building is sitting empty, the market isn't the problem. Your strategy might be.
Here are five signs that it's time for a new approach, and what a better one looks like.
Sign 1: You Haven't Heard From Your Broker in More Than Two Weeks
The most common complaint we hear from owners who come to us after working with a competitor: "My broker just stopped calling." In an active leasing situation, your broker should be reporting to you on tour activity, prospect feedback, and market conditions at least weekly, without you having to ask.
Silence isn't professionalism. It's absence. If you're chasing your broker for updates, you're already carrying too much of the load yourself.
Sign 2: Your Space Has Been Listed More Than 60 Days Without an Offer
Sixty days without a letter of intent in the Salt Lake Valley industrial market is a clear signal that something is broken: pricing, presentation, reach, or some combination of the three. The market is active. Tenants are moving. The properties leasing in 30 days are not structurally different from yours; they're better marketed, better priced, and in front of the right decision-makers.
The first question to ask: when did your broker last reach out directly to tenant-rep brokers with active requirements? If the answer is "I'm not sure" or "they rely on LoopNet," that's the issue.
Sign 3: You Don't Know What Comparable Buildings Are Asking
This sounds basic, but a surprising number of landlords are setting asking rates based on what they need, not what the market will bear. As a commercial real estate broker operating in Salt Lake City, one of the first things we do when engaging with a new owner is pull fresh comparable lease data: what closed in the last 90 days, at what rate, with what terms, and in what condition.
If you can't answer those questions for your submarket, you're negotiating blind.
Sign 4: Your Listing Targets the Wrong Tenant Profile
A 120,000 SF bulk distribution building is not a flex tenant building. A 12,000 SF flex suite is not a target for a national 3PL operator. The most effective industrial leasing strategy starts with a precise tenant profile: industry, size range, operational needs, credit profile, and then executes targeted outreach to that profile. Generic, untargeted listings attract generic, unqualified tours.
At CRES Utah, we build a target tenant profile for every new listing before we launch marketing. That profile drives which brokers we call, which companies we reach out to directly, and how we write the listing copy.
Sign 5: Your Lease Terms Are Eroding Value
A lease signed today locks in your income stream for the next 3–7 years. If your broker isn't negotiating for annual rent escalations, meaningful TI reimbursement, strong credit covenants, and landlord-friendly option structures, you're giving up value in every deal, even when the space gets leased.
The right leasing strategy isn't just about filling a vacancy. It's about filling it with the right tenant, at the right rate, with the right protections in place.
If any of these signs resonate, we'd like to talk. CRES Utah offers a free leasing strategy consultation for Salt Lake Valley industrial property owners, no listing required. We'll review your current situation, tell you where we see the gaps, and give you a concrete plan for what a better approach looks like.
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