Commercial real estate is huge in the United States, with its dollar value in 2018 estimated to be an impressive $16 trillion.
The coronavirus pandemic adversely impacted many industries across the country, with numerous markets experiencing a significant decline. While real estate as a whole was not spared, commercial real estate still endured. In fact, between September 2019 and October 2020, the US commercial real estate market grew by 1.4 percent.
What these statistics mean is that owning a commercial building is one of the surest ways to build wealth, even in uncertain economic times. Thus, investing in commercial property comes with huge responsibilities. One of them is keeping your properties in top shape. That means, from time to time, you’ll need to do certain upgrades to attract new tenants or keep existing ones happy.
Outlined below are three updates that can instantly boost your property’s appeal and value:
1. Consider a New Paint Job
One of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to enhance property appearance and value is a fresh paint job. As a landlord, you want to make the best impression you can on potential tenants. Your property’s exterior is the best way to present yourself in a good light, whether you own commercial steel buildings or your property is made from another material.
What if you own the business yourself? A fresh coat of paint can do wonders for your sales efforts. For instance, repainting your commercial space helps you when it comes to the following areas:
Rebranding
Through the years, your business may evolve to the point that you need to rebrand. That may entail updating your current logo or erecting new signage. This phase may also include updating your paint colours, so they match the new logo or signage.
A new shade may also be a subtle way to symbolize change to your clients, even when you don’t dramatically shift your brand. Brands that change ownership often use this approach.
Boosting Customer Perception
Most consumers use aesthetic factors when creating an initial impression of a brand. A building that’s been freshly painted is both welcoming and inspiring. To clients, this is a strong symbol of reliability.
Improving Your Workplace
A new coat of paint isn’t only beneficial to customers. Your employees will also get to enjoy an inviting working space. As a result, employee satisfaction and productivity go to the next level, which ultimately bolsters your bottom line.
2. Use Window Tinting
Another surefire way to improve your commercial property is through commercial window tinting, whether window tints were part of your original commercial building plan or not. Also known as window film, window tint refers to a thin laminate film usually installed to the exterior or interior of glass in buildings. Sometimes, window tinting is done on automobiles too.
Commercial window tinting comes in many variations, including decorative films, solar films, and security and safety films. Window tinting is suitable for all types of buildings, including commercial modular buildings and commercial metal buildings. Exactly what benefits should you expect from this update?
Great Energy Savings
One of the major selling points of commercial window tinting is its ability to reduce your energy costs. Tinting does so by balancing the temperatures inside the building, meaning that you don’t need to spend so much energy on heating and cooling.
More Privacy
If a workspace requires confidentiality, then one of the best ways to achieve this is by tinting the windows. Employees can thus enjoy the convenience and privacy they need to focus on their tasks.
Added Comfort
Window tint prevents too much glare that can make a working space uncomfortable. Moreover, it prevents the working space from getting too hot, which would make it uncomfortable for both employees and customers.
Enhanced Visual Appeal
Window tinting can instantly add a professional look to a commercial building. As we pointed out earlier, there’s decorative tinting meant to boost the aesthetics of a property. That stylish look can be a big draw to customers.
3. Upgrade the Lighting
While on the subject of affordable commercial space updates that have the biggest impact, consider a complete lighting retrofit. Switching traditional lighting systems to LED options can immediately transform your property. Here are some of the benefits to expect from this update:
The Impact on the Environment
LED lighting consumes far less energy than its incandescent counterparts. Besides, the lighting lasts much longer. As a result, there’s much less waste going into the environment, which is great for the environment.
More Savings
Given that LED lighting consumes a small fraction of the energy consumed by traditional incandescent lighting, you get to spend less on lighting. Moreover, these lighting systems have a remarkably long lifespan, so you don’t need to worry about buying new bulbs every few months because your existing ones blew out.
Added Safety
One of the first things a commercial building inspector does when assessing your property is to check how safe it is for its occupants. You certainly want to make sure that your building is structurally sound to avoid incidents that may harm your employees and clients.
It isn’t just the structural integrity of your building that can endanger the well-being of people inside and around your property. A poorly lit workspace is a safety hazard. Retrofitting your lighting can drastically reduce the likelihood of accidents happening in your commercial property. A well-lit working area puts everyone entering and leaving it at ease. The result is more productivity and better customer flow.
Invest in the Right Commercial Building Updates
There are countless ways to upgrade your commercial building space, but some cost you money while doing nothing to enhance property value. The updates recommended in this article are not only affordable, but are also effective in drawing clients to your commercial space and keeping them happy.
