“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

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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

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