2016’s top 10 states for commercial development

NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association, recently released its annual study “Economic Impacts of Commercial Real Estate” in which it details the development, construction, and ongoing operations of new commercial real estate in the U.S.

The study shows office, industrial, warehouse, and retail real estate development supported 6.25 million American jobs and contributed $861 billion to U.S. GDP in 2016. Between 2011 and October 2016, construction spending increased 48.7% and was a key factor in the economy’s growth in 2016. For the year ending in October 2016, total construction spending was up 3.4%.

Office and Warehouse spending increased by 28.7% and 12.7% respectively from 2015. Retail spending decreased 7 percent from gains of 8.2% in 2015. Industrial spending decreased significantly for the second straight year, down 29.9% from 2015.

Of the top 10 states by construction value (office, industrial, warehouse, and retail), only three (New York, Texas, and Florida) remained in the same position as 2015. New York was once again first on the list with $24.8 billion in direct spending and $46.05 billion in total output. Texas wasn’t far behind with $18.5 billion in direct spending and $44.3 billion in total output. Florida once again took the fifth position on the list.

To view the full report, click here.

The Architectural Billings Index measures the general sentiment of U.S. architecture firms about the health of the construction market by measuring 1) design billings and 2) design contracts. Any score above 50 means that, among the architecture firms surveyed, more firms than not reported seeing increases in design work vs. the previous month.