With approximately 160 million properties in the United States and only a tiny fraction actively listed, nearly every commercial property is technically off-market. That reality, according to Dan Mosher, co-founder and CEO of AI-powered commercial real estate intelligence platform DealGround, means the traditional method of cold calling every owner in a zip code is not just inefficient—it is counterproductive.
“Off-market is any building that’s not currently being listed,” Mosher said. “You have about 160 million properties in the United States right now, and the number of properties that are currently being listed is a small, small subset of that. So almost every property is technically off-market.”
The sheer scale of off-market inventory makes a volume-based approach impractical. Mosher has observed many brokers attempt to force volume into off-market sourcing, a strategy he believes fails because it is too broad and generic. “We think that carpet bombing approach is not the right approach. I think that’s the biggest mistake, you go too broad and too generic, and that becomes off-putting to an owner, that it creates a low probability of success,” he said.
Instead, Mosher advocates for a “sniper-like approach” that targets a specific set of properties based on a buyer’s criteria and a broker’s ability to provide value. This method, he argues, yields better outcomes because it replaces cold outreach with warm leads. “When you reach out to that owner, you have a story that is compelling. You know the details about the owner’s property. You have a buyer, or you are a buyer, that’s got a certain philosophy and a buy box, and that property fits within that philosophy. That is not cold outreach. That’s more of a warm lead,” Mosher said.
The implications for commercial real estate brokers are significant. In a market where time and resources are finite, the ability to filter through millions of properties to find those that match a buyer’s needs is a competitive advantage. DealGround aims to provide that advantage by transforming fragmented property, tenant, ownership, and market data into structured, actionable intelligence. The platform helps brokers generate qualified leads and move faster from prospecting to closed deals.
Brokers interested in learning more about this targeted sourcing process can review the methodology on DealGround’s how it works page. For those still relying on volume calling, Mosher’s message is clear: more calls do not necessarily mean more deals. A smaller, better-informed list usually beats a longer, generic one. As the commercial real estate industry becomes increasingly data-driven, the brokers who embrace precision over volume will likely be the ones who succeed in sourcing off-market deals.
