How to Write a Commercial Real Estate Listing Description

July 1, 2026·5 min read

Commercial real estate buyers are doing math while they read your listing. What's the cap rate? Who are the tenants and when do their leases expire? How much deferred maintenance am I inheriting? Is the zoning compatible with my intended use? Your listing needs to answer these questions — or sophisticated buyers will move on without asking.

Lead With the Investment Thesis, Back It With Data

Even data-driven buyers respond to a clear positioning statement up front. One sentence that frames the opportunity:

"Value-add retail center anchored by a national tenant with 30% upside on below-market leases."
"Rare 24-foot clear warehouse with 3-phase power and direct truck court access in a submarket with 3% vacancy."
"Class B office building at 92% occupancy — fully stabilized at a 6.8% cap."

This tells the buyer exactly what opportunity they're looking at. Write this first — then back it up with data. The data without the thesis is a spec sheet. The thesis without data is noise.

What to Include by Property Type

Retail and office space:

Total square footage + breakdown of usable vs. rentable
Ceiling height and column spacing
Current use and zoning classification
Parking ratio and type (surface, garage, reserved)
Lease type (NNN, gross, modified gross) and remaining term
Current tenant status: vacant, fully occupied, or anchor + inline breakdown
Daily traffic count for retail-facing locations

Industrial and warehouse:

Clear height (often the #1 filter for warehouse tenants)
Door configuration: dock-high vs. grade-level, number and dimensions
Power specs: amps, voltage, 3-phase availability
Lot coverage and outdoor storage/yard area
Access: truck court depth, rail spur if applicable
Sprinkler system type (ESFR, K-17, wet pipe)

Investment and multi-tenant properties:

Number of units, current occupancy rate
Gross income, net operating income (NOI) if disclosed
Lease expiration schedule summary (near-term rollover risk)
Recent capital improvements with dates
Cap rate at list price — buyers will calculate it anyway; showing your work builds credibility

What CRE Buyers Use to Screen You Out

Sophisticated buyers use listing quality as a proxy for seller sophistication. Vague copy ("great bones, value-add opportunity with upside for the right buyer") reads as: the seller doesn't know their numbers, or the numbers don't support the ask. Either way, they skip.

A data-dense, well-organized listing signals a seller who knows what they own and is priced accordingly — which makes buyers more comfortable moving forward without as much due diligence friction.

How PLG Handles Commercial Properties

PLG's commercial mode generates data-forward listing copy built for LoopNet, CoStar, and broker-to-broker email. It pulls zoning context, traffic counts where available, and neighborhood business data — and writes in a register appropriate for institutional and private investors. The result: a structured, information-dense description that reads like it was written by an experienced CRE broker.

Try it at PropertyListingGenerator.com.

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