Remote work’s uneven impact on the office sector

Office utilization and work-from-home rates are uneven between markets, indicating that the pain felt in the office sector will be worse in some places than others, according to Yardi Matrix.

Unfortunately, no data source that tracks remote work paints a complete picture. After the pandemic began in the spring of 2020, Kastle Systems started releasing a widely followed survey that tracks office utilization in 10 markets. Kastle data shows that Texas metros such as Austin, Dallas and Houston lead in utilization rates, while large coastal markets have lower rates. Austin’s rate was more than 20 percentage points higher than San Francisco’s during the first week of March 2024.

Nationally, 94.2 million square feet of office space are under construction, representing 1.4 percent of stock.

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