By Marie Ruff
Since the start of the pandemic, sleepy small towns and suburbs have taken on new luster as people have migrated en masse from the urban core, drawn by the lower cost of living and with the flexibility afforded by increased remote work options. Will this be the new normal, or will people move back to the major metropolises once we put the pandemic behind us? What does it mean for office real estate in the short and long term?
In a recent NAIOP webinar, experts from Marcus & Millichap shared their research and insights into how these trends are shaping the investment landscape for urban and suburban office spaces. They began by examining the broader economic context underlying the urban to suburban shift before discussing recent office sale trends, the impact of demographics and what’s ahead for this sector.
U.S. Office Supply and Demand Trends
Office vacancy rates have been elevated since the onset of the pandemic; however, office rate absorption has also been positive for five consecutive quarters. “Although it is soft, it is not as soft as some people perceive,” said John Chang, senior vice president, national director research services, Marcus & Millichap. There was only a brief period of net negative office space absorption in 2020 and have been making a recovery, albeit sometimes slowly, since.
