U.S. broker commissions nearly 58% off peak

(Source: Calculated Risk)

Real estate broker commissions have fallen to their lowest level as a percentage of GDP since 1982, according to the blog Calculated Risk, using new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. As of the third quarter, commissions were at an annual rate of $48.2 billion, or 0.33 of GDP, more than 58 percent off their peak rate of $116.5 billion, or 0.91 percent of GDP, in the third quarter of 2005. Meanwhile, investment in single family homes, which took a nosedive after 2006, is now at $110 billion, or 0.75 percent of GDP, behind investment in home improvement, at $146.6 billion, or 1 percent of GDP. Multi-family investment also hit a new record low as a percentage of GDP, since the government began tracking the data in 1959. [Calculated Risk]