Commercial real estate continues to be strong in Metro Atlanta and across the country. I have sold over $3,000,000 worth of commercial property thus far in 2007 mostly due to the reasons explained in this article from Realtor Magazine Online:
A recent study conducted by Dr. Stephen S. Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University, for NAIOP Research Foundation credits “the thriving commercial development sector” with buffering the slowdown in the residential sector.
The study found that spending related to commercial real estate added $498.4 billion to the GDP in 2005. By comparison, the federal government’s contribution that year was $498.8 billion.
Spending on commercial real estate included:
* $228.93 billion on soft costs (architects, engineering, marketing, legal, management), site development, and tenant improvements
* $265.9 billion on the hard costs, or actual construction outlays
* $3.6 billion on maintenance
"By 2005, all sub-sectors of nonresidential construction were accelerating, helping to offset slowing residential building construction outlays in 2006 and 2007," Fuller said. "This counterbalance kept the national economy from experiencing a sharper slowdown in the face of rising energy costs and lost output due to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.”
Most recently, in March 2007, spending costs rose 2.4 percent, which according to Thomas Bisacquino, president of NAIOP, “more than makes up for the 1 percent drop in residential construction.”
Leading States for Commercial Construction Spending
The top 10 states for construction spending are:
1. California
2. Texas
3. Florida
4. Georgia
5. Illinois
6. Indiana
7. New York
8. Ohio
9. Virginia
10. Arizona
In terms of individual sectors, Texas ranked first for industrial spending, while California led the states in spending for office, industrial, warehouse, and retail categories.
— By Camilla McLaughlin for REALTOR® Magazine Online
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