Remote work is starting to hit office rents

Matt Phillips

Data: CBRE Econometric Advisors; Moody's; Chart: Axios VisualsData: CBRE Econometric Advisors; Moody's; Chart: Axios Visuals

Data: CBRE Econometric Advisors; Moody’s; Chart: Axios Visuals

After a lag, the work-from-home revolution is finally starting to show up in the data for office building rental rates.

State of play: Major markets like San Francisco and Manhattan — where long commute times seem to be driving the durability of the WFH lifestyle — have been hit the hardest.

  • On the other hand, markets like Raleigh, Boston and Minneapolis — which have a higher concentration of health services, biotech and life science employment — seem to be faring well. (It’s hard to do laboratory research from your home office.)

What we’re watching: Whether the issues in the office market worsen due to balance-sheet stress at regional banks.

  • Small and midsized banks (those not among the top 25) currently hold 67.2% of all outstanding commercial real estate loans, Axios recently reported.
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