6 Ways to Maximize ROI on a Commercial Property

Originally Published: March 6, 2026

It can take a lot of time, money, and effort to get your hands on a commercial property, but you can argue that the real work begins once the property is in your possession. After all, it’s what you do once you’re in control that will determine your ROI.

If you’ve done your due diligence when selecting the property, then you’ll be in a prime position to enjoy a strong ROI. After all, commercial real estate rewards investors who take a proactive approach to making their property as profitable as possible.

And ‘proactive approach’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘complicated.’ Even small steps can have a big impact on profitability. In this post, we’ll outline some of the best ways that new commercial property owners can nudge both their NOI and asset value in the right direction. 

Reduce Vacancy

If you’re looking for the single best way to improve ROI, then making sure that your vacancy rate is as low as possible is it. After all, there’s no better way to negatively impact your NOI than by having units sitting empty. Without anyone paying rent, the unit will bring in no cash while also bleeding other expenses, such as taxes and insurance.

Even marginal gains in occupancy rate can have a noticeable impact on the balance sheet. In most cases, simply understanding why a unit is vacant can go a long way towards positioning the unit so that there’s more interest. 

Increase Rent

Many commercial property owners set their rent values when they first take over the property, and then simply forget about them. But the truth is that if you’re not periodically reviewing your rents, then there’s every chance that you’re not getting the full market value. After all, markets change.

Measuring your rents against comparable commercial properties can help you gauge whether you’re in line with the market. With that said, simply raising the rent can also be detrimental, both to your relationship with your existing tenants and those that you’re trying to appeal to. Making meaningful improvements to the units will cost some money, but they might just allow you to charge higher rents. 

Optimize Your Tax Strategy

Commercial property owners often end up overpaying on their tax bill, and every penny that they overspend will impact their ROI. 

There’s no way to completely avoid paying tax on your commercial property, but there are ways to ensure that the amount that you do pay is as low as possible. Strategies such as cost segregation and Section 179 can work together to dramatically decrease obligations, which in turn can have a big impact on the bottom line. These strategies don’t improve income, but they do impact how much of your money you’re able to keep — and from a financial perspective, that’s essentially the same thing. As such, it’s recommended to get in touch with expert tax professionals, who will be able to guide you through the process. 

Lower Expenses

Commercial property owners figure out their NOI by subtracting their expenses from their revenue. In other words, if they’re able to lower their expenses, then they can boost their NOI. It has the same impact as increasing revenue, only with one important advantage — it’s often easier to lower expenses than it is to increase revenue.

Taking some time to invest in expense management can have a significantly positive impact on the bottom line. To start, look at auditing your expenses. If it’s been a while since you’ve done so, then you might find that you’re overpaying for some services, as well as paying for some services that you simply no longer need. One particular area to focus on is insurance, which can account for a big percentage of a commercial property’s outgoings. Avoid automatically renewing, and shop around for the best deal. 

Make Smart Improvements

As with making improvements to residential properties, improvements to commercial properties are not universally advantageous. Cosmetic improvements, for example, have costs but don’t generate much ROI.

When making improvements to your property, focus on the ones that will make your property more appealing to tenants, allow you to raise rents, or help to reduce how much you spend on maintenance in the future. They’re the ones that can be considered sound investments. 

Look at Refinancing

Finally, consider refinancing. Things change over time, and the structure you used when you first bought the property may no longer be the best one for your needs. A better loan can help to put more money in your bank account, though make sure to speak to your accountant beforehand. 

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