Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop an operational framework with guidelines and lessons to improve the current real estate portfolio disposal procedures of freeholds, based on empirical evidence from the banking sector. Design/methodology/approach: The empirical research is based on a comparative analysis of four case studies, representing approximately 80 per cent of the Dutch banking sector. The case studies comprise a systematic document review of corporate business and real estate strategies and semi-structured interviews with decision makers who steer the organisation’s corporate real estate (CRE) portfolio composition. Findings: This research shows a strong relationship between organisation characteristics, legacy and strategy, disposal drivers and CRE disposal strategies. The weighing of drivers and order of steps in strategy execution strategies largely depend on organisational objectives. Research limitations/implications: This paper reports empirical findings from Dutch case studies. To generalise, further research is needed in different legal, financial and economic contexts and in other sectors. This paper suggests a more thorough study of the relationship between space-use efficiency and technological innovation implementation. Practical implications: The framework proposes strategy improvements and a proactive approach to corporate real estate management (CREM) to create value through real estate portfolios. Originality/value: This paper provides a thorough analysis of the CREM of the Dutch banking sector and is applicable to CREM in this and other sectors.