{"id":1004754591,"date":"2025-04-16T04:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-04-16T12:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?p=1004754591"},"modified":"2025-05-09T04:37:17","modified_gmt":"2025-05-09T12:37:17","slug":"return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Return-to-Office Mandates Start to Clock In"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Office traffic nationally remains well behind the pace of the pre-pandemic level but it is showing steady improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visits in March came in 32.2 percent below March 2019 levels. However, a recent report from Placer.ai<\/a> said that although numbers declined in January and February, last month\u2019s data reveals that new return-to-office mandates could have had an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New York City (down 11.4 percent) and Miami (down 17.3 percent) have recovered the most. Boston (10.2 percent), Washington, D.C. (9.8 percent) and San Francisco (9.6 percent) are showing the most improvement year-over-year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This comes after solid improvement registered late last year<\/a>, according to Placer.ai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Placer.ai Nationwide Office Building Index is based on foot traffic from 1,000 commercial office buildings throughout the U.S. with first-floor retail. Mixed-use buildings and government buildings are not factored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a>
Office visits tick upwards in March 2025, outperforming March 2024. Chart courtesy of Placer.ai<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhile we still have large high-rise vacancies in our downtown and Midtown corridors\u2014in the 20 percent range\u2014those buildings are seeking alternative uses for more multifamily applications and hotel conversions in those submarkets,\u201d Jason Price, executive director of marketing & research at Commercial Properties Inc.\/CORFAC International, told Commercial Property Executive<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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READ ALSO<\/strong>: Where Office Space Wins<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The demand for urban office space closer to neighborhoods and retailers is very competitive in the Phoenix market, Price added. Based on Commercial Properties Inc.\/CORFAC International\u2019s internal deal data, he sees this shift in leasing activity for urban office space compared to the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the first quarter of 2024, we closed 80 office lease deals covering 150,908 square feet. Fast forwarding to 2025, while our firm saw a slight decrease in the number of lease deals (75 in total), there was a significant increase in the square footage leased, equating to 202,716 total square feet, primarily in urban office products.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a>
New York and Miami continued to lead office recovery in March 2025. Chart courtesy of Placer.ai<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The data suggests fewer deals but larger-sized office lease transactions, which coincides with more businesses relocating to Arizona\u2019s pro-business environment, Price observed. \u201cThis attracts established companies who enjoy lower business costs and want amenities for their employees nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Return-to-office momentum builds<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are already seeing tangible progress as return-to-office momentum builds,\u201d Christopher Clemente, CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Comstock Cos., told CPE<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[Public transportation] train ridership at Reston Station is up more than 30 percent year-over-year. With more people back on the move, our office tenants report increased foot traffic, and restaurants, retailers and fitness studios throughout our mixed-use communities are experiencing meaningful gains. This isn\u2019t just a shift in workplace habits\u2014its broader economic ripple reinvigorates daily life across the region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The year began with announcements from some corporate giants instituting return-to-office mandates, signaling a massive shift in remote work policies that has remained steady during the first quarter of 2025, according to Ben Kuykendall, senior sales & leasing associate at First Capital Property Group\/CORFAC International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese corporate giants are returning to their headquarters campuses,\u201d Kuykendall said. \u201cThe trend we\u2019ve seen among smaller local and regional firms in Orlando has been to retain an office presence but to trade down to smaller footprints with more flexible layouts with features like hot desks and small private call rooms.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCompanies we\u2019ve worked with to relocate or expand their offices have consistently stated that working from home is no longer effective, and they want to find a space that\u2019s convenient and compelling so that their teams can work in person.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart<\/a>
Most cities saw return to year-over-year office visit growth in March 2025. Chart courtesy of Placer.ai<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Positive signs in key Midwest markets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the St. Louis area, traffic is heavier, restaurants are buzzing with Doordash pickups headed to offices hard at work, according to Joel Meyer, SIOR, principal of Intelica\/CORFAC International.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe parking lots are packed. While some buildings and submarkets still face elevated vacancy, we\u2019re seeing real tightening in top-tier spaces\u2014especially Class A assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Clayton, Mo.\u2014the financial hub of the St. Louis MSA\u2014Class A\/B office vacancy has dropped from 20 percent to just 11.6 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTop credit tenants are actively competing for the best space, signaling renewed momentum in the market,\u201d Meyer said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LISTEN TO:<\/strong> Podcast\u2014How Would Employees React to Return-to-Office Rules?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In Chicago, there has been a shift in the employer-employee dynamic from what was felt just a few years ago, Grant Bollman, vice president at Lee & Associates of Illinois, told CPE<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe current economic cycle has created uncertainty in the labor pool, leaving more employees doubting their ability to find another remote or hybrid job should their employer take a hard line on its return-to-office policy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s not necessarily adversarial. In many cases, landlords have spent money to make the office a more welcoming place where people want to be. We have a long way to go to solve the office vacancy problem, but these factors are shifting things in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

RTO perks make a difference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having an inviting environment is crucial, according to Jeff Gural, chairman & principal of GFP Real Estate, based in New York City.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe’ve implemented several initiatives to make our buildings more appealing, including our popular NFL and concert ticket giveaway programs where the tenant’s employees can scan a QR code in the lobby daily to be entered into monthly drawings for box seats for concert tickets and Jets\/Giants games at MetLife Stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also enhancing the daily office experience with special touches like handing out roses on Valentine\u2019s Day, hosting regular coffee and bagel mornings, organizing social events in our lobbies and bringing in world-class musicians for lobby concerts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

GFP is addressing practical concerns such as childcare through its partnership with Buckle My Shoe preschool, offering tenants’ employees a 50 percent discount through a shared subsidy program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese efforts are paying off\u2014our leasing occupancy has steadily increased back into the 90-percent-plus range after dipping during COVID,\u201d Gural said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

New York City and Miami are front-runners as markets recover, according to Placer.ai.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3568,"featured_media":1004754664,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21808,1492,23891,1600,21742,21747,21785,51037],"tags":[46913,42326,42380,52442],"class_list":["post-1004754591","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-miami","category-national","category-new-york","category-latest","category-office","category-property-management","category-trends","tag-comstock-holding-companies","tag-corfac-international","tag-gfp-real-estate","tag-placer-ai"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReturn-to-Office Mandates Start to Clock In - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Return-to-Office Mandates Start to Clock In\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"New York City and Miami are front-runners as markets recover, according to Placer.ai.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-16T12:00:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-05-09T12:37:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/04\/NYC-and-Miami.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Richard Berger\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/\",\"name\":\"Return-to-Office Mandates Start to Clock In - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/04\/NYC-and-Miami.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-16T12:00:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-05-09T12:37:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6d4c5f1b2f682b3604ad9fe73c19fed7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/return-to-office-mandates-start-to-clock-in\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/04\/NYC-and-Miami.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2025\/04\/NYC-and-Miami.jpg\",\"width\":800,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"New York and Miami continued to lead office recovery in March 2025. 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