The work-from-home phenomenon that spread like wildfire due to the pandemic appears to be catching on in New York — and it’s in retreat in many other metropolises across the country, according to the latest office building data.
Office visits in the Big Apple in October were at 86.2% compared to 2019 levels — tops in the country — with much smaller Miami second at 82.6%, according to market monitor Placer.ai, the most reliable measure of office attendance. .
Placer.ai uses mobile phone data to track visits to office buildings across the US.
San Francisco barely finished last with 51.7%, the data showed
Bryant Park Corporation co-founder Daniel Biederman, who spends a lot of time at the Manhattan park, said, “Midtown is very close to 2019 in attendance. We have some tourists, but most of the people who dine in the park are office workers.”
He pointedly added: “Working from home is dying against all predictions.”
It is not only a desire for companionship, but also the muscle of the employer that has pushed them far back.
The Placer.ai report noted that Amazon, Dell, Goldman Sachs, Walmart, and UPS were “just a few of the major employers that have cracked down on remote work in recent months, some requiring their teams to be onsite with complete.”
The growing office turnout drew cheers, but little surprise, from some other real estate industry executives.
CBRE tristate CEO Mary Ann Tighe quipped, “What a shocker! People who live in New York love to go to the office and interact with colleagues. I am stunned.”
She said of earlier pessimistic forecasts, “Everybody bet against human nature as momentum gathered for everyone to stay home.”
Some older and outdated buildings remain haunted, but the main towers at Sixth and Park streets, at Hudson Yards and at the World Trade Center are just about full, as anyone who works, lives or shops nearby can attest.
JLL vice president Joseph Messina said the trend of employers “continuing to push employees to work in the office four or five days a week coincides with an increase in rent in Class A. While initially seen mainly in the financial services sector, announcements by the last of the big tech firms are now influencing the same trend.”
In recent weeks, The Post has reported on a major expansion and lease renewals by Bloomberg LP at the two Lexington Avenue towers and a potential 300,000-square-foot expansion by Amazon at 452 Fifth Ave.
“The only question seems to be whether they’re going to lease it or buy it,” an insider said.
SL Green’s director of leasing, Steven Durels, said on a recent investor call, “Obviously, a back-to-office mentality is driving a lot more people back and forcing some of these existing tenants back into the market where they had vacated space. . because they thought they would have a stronger hybrid work environment. And now they’re turning the bodies, it’s forcing them to take more space.”
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Image Source : nypost.com