Curious about these statistics, I sent a blind e-mail inquiry to the BLS seeking more information. Incredibly, I received a very thorough explanation from an economist at the BLS, complete with step-by-step directions to access the original data. It turns out that the Feds have tracked commercial real estate brokerage fees since December 1995, breaking out leasing and sales separately. This is called a Producer Price Index. (It is one of 10,000 Producer Price Indices tracked by the BLS.)

Starting with an index of 100 in 1995, leasing fees peaked in May 2001 at 112.9 (12.9% higher), before falling in February 2003 to 109.7 (9.7% above 1995). By contrast, sales fees have grown over the years gradually to a high in February 2003 of 114.0 (14% above 1995). How accurate are these statistics? Search me. But they do provide an interesting insight into our industry. What do you think?

If you'd like to check out the statistics, go to www.bls.gov/ppi. Click "Get Detailed Statistics" (on the blue bar). Click "Series Report." Fill in the appropriate Series ID. For Commercial Sales, use pcu6531#13. For Commercial Leasing, use pcu6531#14. Select your time period and click "Retrieve." Wasn't that simple?

--Peter Pike