RE: Commercial Real Estate Crash: Building In St Louis Sold For $3.5M
You are viewing a single comment's thread:
The thing is, for the companies that embrace WFH, the cost savings are incredible. Building rental, heating, cooling, cleaning are all expensive... and you're usually restricted in hiring only the people who live nearby or are willing to move (usually subsidized by the company). People (but not everyone) are generally more productive and there are far less interruptions and pointless time-wasting meetings.
The commute is a big deal, my commute could be anywhere from 20 minutes to 2 hours depending on traffic and that is soul-sucking. I'd leave early from work to try and avoid the worst of the traffic, and now WFH allows people to work longer if they want to... or just have happier lives.
I don't know what the future of all these commercial buildings is... it'd be great if they could be converted to apartments but I understand the physical complexities with that... I don't think it's unsolvable though.
Very true.
In the US, a lot of the leases are long term. Some go out as long as 20 years. So the companies are stuck on that end. Why they dont save on the other stuff you mentioned by keeping them empty is beyond me (in the cases where they dont leave them empty).
I agree with the soul sucking aspects of commutes. People easily spend 10 hours per week commuting, on top of their work hours.
It is a massive drain. There is no way the future is one where offices in down town areas are full of employees. I have a feeling we will see a steady decline.
As companies that embrace WFH find themselves more productive and profitable, the market will decide that office spaces are a waste of resources.