Realtors who practice commercial real estate have reported an increase in annual gross income for the third year in a row, signaling the market is on the road to recovery. According to the National Association of Realtors 2013 Commercial Member Profile, transactions and sales volume have also increased since last year.
The study shows median annual gross income for 2012 was $90,200, an increase from $86,000 in 2011 and is at its highest level since 2008. Brokers and appraisers reported the highest annual gross income while sales agents reported the lowest.
The study’s results represent Realtors who practice commercial real estate; these NAR members conduct all or part of their activity in commercial sales, leasing, brokerage and development for land, office and industrial space, multifamily and retail buildings, as well as property management.
“The commercial market is showing signs of improvement, which is reflected in the positive trends in income, transactions and sales volume reported by our Realtor commercial members,” said NAR President Gary Thomas, broker-owner of Evergreen Realty in Villa Park, Calif. “This is a hopeful sign for the future. Realtors who practice commercial real estate build communities by facilitating investment and promoting the sale and lease of commercial space. There’s no doubt that commercial market improvements will help spur economic recovery and growth for our nation.”
Commercial members completed a median of eight transactions in 2012, up from last year. The median sales volume also increased from last year and was $2,507,700. Brokers typically had higher sales transaction volumes than agents. The median dollar value of sales transactions was $433,600 and the median square footage was 10,400.
Similar to the median sales volume, the median lease transaction volume increased this year by more than $70,000. In 2012 commercial members reported a median lease transaction volume of $476,400. Twenty-one percent of commercial members did not have a leasing transaction in 2012. The median dollar value of lease transactions was $169,100 and the median square footage was 4,200.
Commercial members who manage properties typically managed 40,000 square feet, representing 15 total spaces. They also typically managed 16,000 total office square feet, representing six total offices.
A majority of commercial members, 63 percent, reported they derive more than half of their annual income from the real estate industry. Thirty percent of respondents did not derive any income from commercial real estate leasing in 2012. Only 32 percent derived at least half to all of their income from leasing property. A large percentage, 85 percent, of commercial members earned at least some personal income from commercial real estate investments.
Sixty percent of NAR’s commercial members are brokers. Licensed sales agents were the next largest segment at 25 percent. Most commercial members reported working in a firm that is local and 58 percent work within an office that has a mix of commercial and residential brokers and agents.
Investment sales proved to be the most popular business specialty among commercial members. Identified by the highest proportion of members as their primary business specialty, investment sales was also the top ranked secondary specialty area. Land sales and retail leasing followed closely behind.
The typical commercial member has been in commercial real estate for 15 years and involved in real estate in some capacity for 25 years. The median length of membership in NAR among commercial members was 17 years. With a median age of 59, commercial members are also predominately male. However, women are slowly coming into the business; 33 percent of those with two or fewer years’ experience are female, and sales agents have the largest representation of women with 29 percent.
The NAR 2013 Commercial Member Profile was based on a survey of 1,796 commercial practitioners. Income and transaction data are for 2012, while other data represent member characteristics in 2013.
The National Association of Realtors, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
Related Stories
| Jan 21, 2015
Tesla Motors starts construction on $5 billion battery plant in Nevada
Tesla Motors’ “gigafactory,” a $5 billion project on 980 acres in Sparks, Nev., could annually produce enough power for 500,000 electric cars.
| Jan 20, 2015
Daring hotel design scheme takes the shape of cut amethyst stone
The Dutch practice NL Architects designed a proposal for a chain of hotels shaped like a rock cut in half to reveal a gemstone inside.
| Jan 20, 2015
Avery Associates unveils plans for London's second-tallest tower
The 270-meter tower, dubbed the No. 1 Undershaft, will stand next to the city's "Cheesegrater" building.
| Jan 20, 2015
AIA course: Building with brick, stone, and masonry
Earn 1.0 AIA/CES learning units by studying this article and successfully completing the online exam.
| Jan 19, 2015
HAO unveils designs for a 3D movie museum in China
New York-based HAO has released designs for the proposed Bolong 3D Movie Museum & Mediatek in Tianjin.
| Jan 19, 2015
Gaudi’s first work outside Spain will be a chapel in Chile
Nearly 100 years after Antoni Gaudí’s death, Chile will begin constructing a chapel using his designs.
| Jan 19, 2015
Architecture for Humanity closes office, plans to file for bankruptcy
After more than 15 years of work, the nonprofit design group Architecture for Humanity has closed its San Francisco office and plans to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.
| Jan 19, 2015
Four Seasons tower will be Boston's tallest
On Jan. 14, 2015, developer Carpenter & Company and executives from the Four Seasons broke ground on the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences, which will become the tallest building in Boston at 699 feet.
| Jan 19, 2015
Mystery buyer pays highest ever price for NYC residence
The 89th and 90th floors of 157 W. 57th Street have just been purchased for more than $100 million.
| Jan 17, 2015
When is a train station not a train station? When it’s a performance venue
You can catch a train at Minneapolis’s new Target Field Station. You can also share in an experience. That’s what ‘Open Transit’ is all about.
