Texas Leads Nation in Commercial Development

There is no contest: Texas commercial construction projects totaled an estimated $70 billion last year.

The Lone Star State contributed more than 20 percent of national commercial real estate spending in 2022, the Dallas Morning News reported, based on an annual study by the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks.

Commercial spending more than doubled in Texas compared to 2021, and over 1 million jobs were funded by commercial property business, more than double the previous year, according to the study. Texas leads the country in office, industrial and retail development spending, according to the study.

“Texas is the highest-ranking state in the U.S. for overall contributions of commercial real estate to state gross domestic product with $184 billion, $70.3 billion in direct spending, $69.2 billion in personal spending and 1.2 million jobs supported in 2022,” NAIOP vice president Kathryn Hamilton told the DMN.

Multifamily construction is also high across the state, with Dallas leading the country in planned apartment units with 65,000 in the pipeline.

Overall $362 billion was spent in commercial construction across the country last year, and no other state came close to Texas’ spending. Second-closest was Arizona with $41 billion spent, followed by Ohio with $27 billion.

Commercial growth could experience a cool down nationwide as construction loan costs increase and lenders tighten borrowing standards, the report stated.

“The data in the report are strong economic indicators of commercial real estate development investment, job growth and contributions to the U.S. economy,” Marc Selvitelli, president and CEO of the NAIOP, said. “Our success could be met with headwinds as inflation, workforce constraints and higher interest rates create uncertainty.”

A number of massive commercial projects are underway in Texas, including the tallest building ever constructed in Austin, Goldman Sachs’ $500 million office complex in Dallas and a $60 million office building in Houston.

—Erick Pirayesh