Real Estate Industry
- According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the real estate industry had a gross output of $2.374 trillion in 2008, while employing more than 1.5 million workers.
- $2.374 trillion represents 11.4% of US GDP for 2008, or more than 1/10th of the domestic economy.
- The median salary for a real estate agent in 2009 was $35,994 according to salary.com.
- According to the Wall Street Journal 10.7 million households—1 in 4 mortgagees—are underwater on their mortgage, meaning the remaining balance on their loan is greater than the present value of their home.
- According to Bloomberg the housing market lost $3.3 trillion in value in 2008. $6.1 trillion has been lost since the market peaked in the 2nd quarter of 2006.
Campaign Donations and Lobbying
The real estate agency donated $135 million to federal campaigns and candidates in 2008 and spent $83,802,655 lobbying Congress.
In 2010, 630 lobbyists representing 255 realty firms spent $31,351,012 lobbying Congress—a significant reduction from 2005 when 1,068 lobbyists representing 332 realty firms spent $89,218,109. Over the last 20 years, the real estate industry has spent more than $746 million lobbying the federal government.
Top Lobbying Spenders in real estate industry in 2005, the year before the market collapsed:
Freddie Mac $12,560,000
National Association of Realtors 12,300,000
Fannie Mae 10,080,000
Mortgage Insurance Companies of America 5,960,000
FM Policy Focus 3,790,000
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Enterprise Value (Net worth)
Fannie Mae $3.3 trillion
Freddie Mac $2.4 trillion
Income over last 12 months (as of August 2010)
Fannie Mae $64.3 billion
Freddie Mac $23.3 billion
Freddie Mac lobbying by year
Fannie Mae lobbying by year
Follow these links for detailed income and expenditure statements, cash flow, and balance sheets for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
