NEW YORK – April 11, 2017 – Florida ranks fifth nationwide for commercial development, according to NAIOP, a commercial real estate development association. By sector, it's third in retail, third in warehouse/flex sectors and seventh in office space.
Development, construction and ongoing operations of new commercial real estate in the United States – office, industrial, warehouse and retail – supported 6.25 million American jobs and contributed $861 billion to U.S. GDP in 2016, according to the report, "Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate," published by the NAIOP Research Foundation.
To come up with U.S. statistics, researchers measured GDP, salaries and wages, and jobs created and supported from the development and operations of commercial real estate.
"The importance of commercial development to the U.S. economy is well established, and the industry's growth is critical to creating new jobs, improving infrastructure, and creating places to work, shop and play," says Thomas Bisacquino, NAIOP president and CEO.
Construction spending has increased each year since 2011, gaining 48.7 percent between 2011 and October 2016. For the year ending in October 2016, total construction spending was up 3.4 percent, exceeding the GDP growth rate for this period.
Year-to-year comparisons
The report notes that if the economy avoids recession through mid-2020, it would tie the previous longest business cycle record of 10 years, achieved in the 1980s.
Top 10 states by construction value in 2016