- Office traffic has steadily increased since the pandemic, reaching 72.6% of pre-COVID attendance in 2025, per Placer.ai data.
- This uptick is helping stabilize office vacancy rates and is driving demand in related sectors, especially downtown apartments.
- A softer labor market is enabling companies—especially in finance and tech—to enforce in-office policies, reinforcing the trend.
Gradual but Steady Recovery
According to GlobeSt, office attendance has risen consistently after falling sharply during the pandemic. Placer.ai, which tracks foot traffic using anonymized mobile data, reports that office use climbed from 29% in June 2021 to 72.6% in 2025. This rebound has helped slow the rise in vacancies. Office vacancy peaked at 17.2% in early 2024, compared to 12.2% at the end of 2019.
Downtown Demand Follows Suit
Higher office use is boosting demand for downtown apartments. Vacancy rates in these areas dropped 60 basis points year-over-year to 4.8% in Q1 2025. Cities like New York, Miami, Atlanta, and Dallas—where office attendance is strongest—are leading the trend.
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Labor Market Shifts Fuel Return
In recent years, a tight job market made companies hesitant to require in-office work. That changed in 2025 as the labor market softened. More employers, particularly in finance and tech, are now enforcing return-to-office mandates. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Dell, and Amazon are among those implementing five-day in-office policies.
Implications for Broader CRE
The return-to-office trend is benefiting more than just office landlords. “As more people return to office environments, we’ll likely see increased demand for surrounding residential units, local retail, and services like self-storage,” said John Chang, chief intelligence and analytics officer at Marcus & Millichap. “The ecosystem around offices is deeply interconnected.”
What’s Next
A full return to five-day office work may not be universal, but the upward momentum is clear. Continued growth in office attendance could support a broader CRE recovery in the years ahead.
