Vacancy remains one of the most persistent challenges in commercial real estate, and current numbers show why sharper, data-driven strategies are no longer optional. Office vacancy reached 18.8% in Q3 2025, industrial rose to 7.4%, and multifamily climbed to 4.4% as new supply outpaced absorption.
As the market shifts, quarterly updates and anecdotal broker insight aren’t enough to keep assets competitive. Traditional leasing relies on historical data and manual observation—both too slow for today’s shifting tenant behavior and demand patterns. Without real-time visibility into emerging engagement behaviors, it becomes difficult to anticipate movement and easy to fall behind owners who activate data earlier in the cycle.
Why Real-Time Data Changes Leasing Velocity
A data-forward approach offers measurable advantages across every major CRE sector. When teams can see which tenants are researching space, where brokers are active, and which segments are signaling expansion, they can make faster, more confident decisions about pricing, positioning, and outreach. This shifts leasing from reactive to anticipatory.
- Industrial teams can respond to demand signals in markets showing renewed momentum—Q3’s 60M SF of net absorption, for example, was the strongest quarter since early 2023.
- Multifamily owners can adjust strategy as new deliveries continue to pressure occupancy.
- Office teams can identify interest in high-quality or amenitized space even as overall demand remains soft.
Real-time visibility helps leasing teams identify opportunities earlier, target the right prospects with greater precision, and reduce the time an asset remains on the market.
Where Traditional Efforts Fall Short
Historically, teams have relied on a combination of broker updates, tour logs, and quarterly market reports—valuable inputs, but no longer fast enough. These methods:
- Depend on retrospective rather than predictive data
- Provide siloed insights instead of a full-funnel view
- Don’t reveal who is actually researching a property online
- Miss early indicators of tenant expansion, downsizing, or market re-entry
At the same time, broad or static marketing efforts may create visibility but rarely ensure your asset appears in front of the right brokers or tenants at the right moment. The result is longer lease-ups, deeper concessions, and a weakened competitive position.
How Data-Driven Platforms Close the Visibility Gap
Platforms like RealtyAds address these challenges by analyzing broker engagement and tenant interest in real time. Teams gain a unified view of:
- Who is interacting with their property
- Which channels are driving momentum
- What content resonates
- Where active opportunities are emerging across the market
This allows owners and brokers to direct targeted outreach toward the decision-makers who matter, maintain consistent visibility across the channels prospects rely on most, and adjust strategy the moment demand signals shift. It’s a proactive, intelligence-driven approach designed to eliminate the blind spots that typically slow deals down.
What to Prioritize Right Now
If reducing vacancy and accelerating lease-up is the priority—as today’s climate makes clear—focus on three areas:
- Know the Metrics That Matter: Pinpoint KPIs that reflect real demand: tour activity, digital engagement among target brokers, and submarket absorption trends.
- Centralize Your Information: Ensure leasing, marketing, and asset teams share the same real-time intelligence to align strategy and prevent gaps in communication.
- Act on Early Signals: When you can identify tenant intent early and activate targeted outreach immediately, you create a measurable advantage in a crowded and competitive environment.
The Bottom Line
Real-time insights aren’t just useful—they’re the differentiator. Teams that can see demand forming, understand who is showing interest, and respond in the moment will consistently move faster, capture more tours, and reduce time on market.
