Commercial Property Executive
By Scott Baltic

The latest report from the NAIOP Research Foundation on the contributions of commercial real estate development, construction and operations is an in-depth look at just how much money those factors pump into the U.S. economy. Quick preview: It's a lot.

This annual study, The Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate, 2020 U.S. Edition, measures the contribution to U.S. GDP, salaries and wages generated, and jobs supported by CRE. In broad strokes, those figures for 2019 were $1.14 trillion, $396.4 billion and 9.2 million (both new and existing jobs), respectively.

These amounts cover both the hard and soft costs of building construction and development, such as pre-construction, site development, construction proper and tenant improvements, though financing fees, taxes and insurance are not included. The full range of expenditures includes architecture and engineering services, legal services, marketing and management, grading and paving, landscaping, site engineering, and interior design and construction. Read more.