Beyond the Lease: The Surprising Way Building Operations Power the U.S. Economy

Building operations rarely get the spotlight in commercial real estate. We usually talk about leases, cap rates and sale prices. But BOMA International’s new 2026 Market Study puts a number on something most people overlook: what it takes to keep office, retail and industrial buildings running every day, and how far that spending travels through the economy.

The answer is bigger than most people would guess, and it says a lot about why well-run properties matter to every community they sit in, including ours here on Long Island.

Building Operations by the Numbers

The study covers privately owned office, retail and industrial buildings of 25,000 square feet or more across the 79 markets served by BOMA’s local associations, about 35.4 billion square feet in total. In 2025, building operations across that space required $274.9 billion in spending on utilities, maintenance, management, insurance, taxes, cleaning and other services. That spending:

• Supported roughly 3.9 million jobs
• Contributed $344.4 billion to U.S. GDP
• Produced $219.4 billion in personal earnings
• Generated $609.9 billion in total economic output

Both owner-occupied and tenant-occupied properties are included in the research, while government-owned assets are excluded. In other words, these figures reflect the everyday work of private owners, managers and the companies they hire.

Why Every Dollar Spent on Building Operations Goes Further

The most useful figure in the report may be the multiplier: each $1 spent on building operations generates about $2.22 in total economic output. That happens in three layers.

• Direct activity. The spending and employment tied to running the property itself, which accounted for about 2.4 million jobs on its own.
• Supply chain. The vendors and suppliers who serve commercial buildings make purchases of their own, from equipment and materials to professional services.
• Household spending. Workers paid through those first two layers spend their income at local businesses, which keeps the effect going.

Together, the supply chain and household spending added roughly 1.4 million jobs beyond the direct total. That is the core message of the study: a commercial building is not just a place where economic activity happens. The work of operating it creates economic activity of its own.

How Office, Retail and Industrial Building Operations Compare

Each property type serves a different part of the economy, but all three create steady demand for professional management, maintenance and building services. The study attributes about 1.9 million supported jobs to office operations, 1.2 million to retail and 760,100 to industrial properties.

The impact is not limited to major cities. The 30 largest BOMA markets account for the biggest share, with $435.9 billion in output, $249.2 billion in GDP contribution and 2.7 million jobs. Even so, the report also finds meaningful effects in mid-size and secondary markets. That is an important point for a region like Long Island, where professionally managed buildings anchor local employment and support a deep bench of local contractors and service providers. If you own property here, our overview of commercial property management on Long Island covers what strong day-to-day management looks like in practice.

What Building Operations Mean for Owners and Investors

For owners and investors, the study is a reminder that a property’s economic contribution does not end when construction does. Construction creates an initial wave of activity, but building operations continue for the life of the asset. Every service contract and operating decision connects a property to a wider network of businesses and workers, year after year.

The report is also candid about the pressures many of us are feeling. Financing costs remain high, and labor, insurance and energy expenses continue to squeeze net operating income and complicate refinancing decisions. Market conditions are uneven, too:

• Office: leasing is showing signs of improvement, while new traditional office development remains limited.
• Retail: fundamentals are generally stable, with little new supply.
• Industrial: demand is holding up on logistics and supply-chain needs, even as development slows. Our look at what drives industrial real estate value goes deeper on this sector.

In that environment, disciplined building operations and well-informed management decisions matter more than ever, both for the performance of an individual asset and for the communities that depend on it.

The Bottom Line

The 2026 Market Study makes a strong case that the people who run commercial buildings are doing more than maintaining real estate. They are sustaining jobs, supporting local suppliers and adding real value to the national economy. For property owners, that is a good reason to treat operations as a strategic priority rather than a line item to minimize.

If you own or occupy commercial space on Long Island and want to talk through what these trends mean for your property, I’m always glad to connect. You can also browse current office space for lease on Long Island.

Source: BOMA International, 2026 Market Study: The Economic Impact of U.S. Commercial Real Estate (Executive Summary), conducted by the Business Research Division of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder. The full study is available at boma.org/2026-market-study.