Commercial real estate in Canada generates big bucks
According to a new research report from the Real Property Association of Canada (REALpac) and the NAIOP Research Foundation, the commercial real estate sector generated $63.3 billion in economic activity in the country in 2011 alone, noting that the sector is more than twice as large as the entire economy of the province of Newfoundland & Labrador.
Supporting 340,000 jobs
Not only does the commercial sector support 340,000 jobs, the equivalent of roughly the entire Canadian agriculture industry, it generates over $18.1 billion in personal income, more than twice the labor income of the Canadian agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries combined.
Generating major tax dollars and small business profits
Additionally, the commercial sector generated $12.5 billion in corporate profits earned by many small and medium companies, along with some of the largest pension funds and insurance companies in Canada. The sector contributed $7.2 billion in personal and corporate income tax revenues for the federal and provincial governments, ultimately accounting for $32.4 billion in total net contribution to Canada’s GDP, which is more than the total GDP of New Brunswick.
Capital investment totalled $21.6 billion
The report noted that capital investment in the sector totalled $21.6 billion last year, accounting for roughly half of the total spending in Canada on non-residential construction. Of that $21.6 billion, $14.9 billion was spent on new buildings, while $6.7 billion accounted for capital improvements, renovations and the upgrading of existing buildings.
Management fees, commercial brokerage fees totalled $7 billion
The ongoing operations of buildings in commercial real estate also generated $3.5 billion in building management fees and nearly the same amount for commercial brokerage fees from sales of commercial properties in 2011.
