The work-from-home trend that has spread like wildfire due to the pandemic appears to be flaring up in New York — and is also slowing down in many other metros across the country, according to the latest office building data.
Office visitation in the Big Apple in October was 86.2% of 2019 levels — tops in the country — according to market monitor Placer.ai, the most reliable measure of office attendance. Much smaller Miami was second at 82.6%. .
Placer.ai uses cell phone data to track visits to office buildings across the US.
Struggling San Francisco ranked last with 51.7%, data shows
“Midtown is very close to 2019 in terms of attendance,” said Daniel Biederman, co-founder of the Bryant Park Corporation, who spends a lot of time in the Manhattan park. We have a few tourists but most of the people having lunch in the park are office workers.
“Contrary to all predictions, work from home is dying out,” he stressed.
It is not only the longing for comradery, but also the power of the employer that has held many back.
Placer.ai reports that Amazon, Dell, Goldman Sachs, Walmart and UPS “were some of the major employers that have been cracking down on remote work in recent months, with some requiring their teams to be on-site full time.” it occurs. “
The growing office attendance pleased many other real estate industry leaders, but surprised a little.
CBRE Tristate CEO Mary Ann Tighe joked, “What a shock! People who live in New York want to go to the office and interact with coworkers. I’m shocked.”
“Everyone bet against human nature as momentum grew about everyone staying home,” he said of earlier pessimistic forecasts.
Some old and obsolete buildings remain problematic, but the major towers at Sixth and Park Avenue, Hudson Yards, and the World Trade Center are nearly full, as anyone who works, lives, or shops nearby can attest. Is.
Joseph Messina, vice president of JLL, said the trend of employers “pushing employees to work in the office four or five days a week has coincided with an uptick in Class-A leasing. While initially primarily in the financial services sector, As was observed, recent announcements from major tech companies are now bucking the same trend.
In recent weeks, The Post has reported on a major expansion and lease renewal Bloomberg LP at the two Lexington Avenue towers And there is scope for expansion of more than 300,000 square feet Amazon at 452 Fifth Avenue.
One insider said, “The only question seems to be whether they’ll lease it or buy it.”
“Clearly, the mentality of returning to the office is driving a lot of people back and forcing some of these existing tenants to come back into that market,” Steven Durrells, director of SL Green Leasing, said on a recent call with investors. “Where they gave up space because they thought they were going to get a more robust hybrid work environment. And now they’re bringing bodies back, it’s forcing them to take up more space.”
