“Return to Office” Could Change the Housing Market, But Not How You’d Think

“Return to office” mandates from the tech and finance industries are coming rapidly. But they’re not just going back to the downtown areas. Return to office (RTO) calls could cause a surprisingly beneficial boost to suburban areas , even as employees are forced back into the office. This has enormous effects on landlords and real estate investors, as the hottest place to own a home might actually be somewhere outside of the city center. Matt Reidy , Director of CRE Economics at Moody’s Analytics , joined us to give a full update. Matt talks about the potential office comeback that could be taking place and the one type of office investment that is outperforming the rest. However, office vacancies are still at an all-time high, and companies are starting to get creative. Could a move into the suburbs help entice employees by keeping commute times minimal? This could be great news for residential investors outside the cities, as “live, work, play” environments could become a hot commodity. In This Episode We Cover Why more companies are looking for suburban offices to win back employees The revival of downtowns and why they’re growing, even with high office vacancy One type of office investment that’s outperforming the competition significantly Rent price growth predictions for 2025 and 2026 Whether office work is here to stay or the “hybrid” model will become the new norm And So Much More! Links from the Show Join the Future of Real Estate Investing with Fundrise Join BiggerPockets for FREE Find an Investor-Friendly Agent in Your Area Dave's BiggerPockets Profile Good News For Investors—Commercial Real Estate is Finally Catching a Break Read More from Matt Grab Dave’s New Book, “Start with Strategy” Jump to topic: (00:00) Intro (01:30) The Return to Office (03:20) An Office Comeback? (07:12) Offices Move to Suburbs (11:02) Are Downtowns Declining? (17:37) Suburban Demand Grows (21:33) Good News for Investors Check out more resources from this show on BiggerPockets.com and https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/on-the-market-276 Interested in learning more about today’s sponsors or becoming a BiggerPockets partner yourself? Email advertise@biggerpockets.com . Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices