San Francisco is currently suffering from a 35% office vacancy rate in the Downtown area. This specific number comes from data collected by CBRE, a tech insights center that focuses on the ways commercial real estate is affected by the tech industry. Executive Director of DBRE, Colin Yasukochi, says that pre-pandemic vacancy numbers in San Francisco hovered around 3 to 4%. This signals an over 30% vacancy increase in just about three years. Yasukochi says that this number will only increase in the first half of 2024 due to certain factors that do not have an immediate resolution.
The pandemic opened a door to the possibility of workers simply staying home to complete tasks instead of commuting to work. And since San Francisco’s economy is dominated by the tech industry, working from home is an easy thing to implement. All that the employees of most tech companies need is a computer with power and internet to be productive workers. Crime, violence, theft, and general lawlessness have also risen during the time of the pandemic in San Francisco. So, if employers want employees to return to the office, there will be strong resistance. Why would someone take time out of their day to venture into a dangerous city to perform the same tasks they performed at home for the past three years?
SOURCES:
San Francisco now at 35% office vacancy rate, highest ever recorded: data – YouTube
San Francisco now at 35% office vacancy rate, highest ever recorded, data shows – ABC7 San Francisco
SF now at 35% office vacancy rate, highest ever recorded: data
“Feels Too Low” – San Francisco Now Has 35% Office Vacancy Rate
San Francisco now at 35% office vacancy rate, highest ever recorded: data : r/sanfrancisco
