Development and construction of commercial real estate – office, industrial and retail buildings – rebounded in 2011, the first year to post gains since the recession began in 2007, according to a new report released by the NAIOP Research Foundation.
The total economic impact of the development (pre-construction, construction and post-construction) of commercial real estate during 2011 added $261.6 billion to the gross domestic product, compared to $231.7 billion in 2010 – a 13% increase, according to the report. Construction spending on commercial real estate totaled $92.3 billion, a more than 12% increase over 2010.
Texas posted the highest amounts of direct spending in all three phases of development across all categories of commercial real estate last year, with $7.9 billion in spending. New York came in second with $6.5 billion in spending, followed by West Virginia ($5.9 billion in spending), California ($4.5 billion in spending) and Arizona ($4.2 billion in spending).
‘2011 was a transition year for the U.S. economy and the construction sector,’ says the report's author, Dr. Stephen S. Fuller of George Mason University. ‘The U.S. economy shifted from a federal stimulus to a private-sector-driven growth pattern, and construction spending grew accordingly.’
