There has been a lot of reporting lately that the "work from home" era is losing its dominance as employers are requiring more office time. The below linked story shows how more than 3,000,000 square feet of what was Manhattan office space is in process of being converted to residential. It adds that it is up from the amount of square footage which was converted in 2023.
Of course, everywhere else is not Manhattan. However, Manhattan either is or was (depending upon what you believe) a hub for large corporate and professional service offices. Their employee policies can impact what happens in other cities.
My take is that you can believe what you want to believe. If you want to go with the "returning to the office" trend, you can find plenty of data to support it. If conversion to residential and/or continued working from home is your choice, you can find plenty of data to support it.
The key to success in real estate, or any other business, is to be where your target audience is. This "residential vs. office" situation does not have a clear cut "winner" at the moment. If you are a residential focused developer, broker, or investor you have plenty of situations for conversions where the research supports it. If your focus is commercial, especially office, you have plenty of chances to accommodate employers bringing their people back in.
Research is crucial. Some municipalities are favoring commercial while others favor residential. There are some which are not changing anything. Knowing about proposed zoning changes or ordinances could be your most valuable pieces of information, especially when it creates the chance to be "first in" to capitalize as soon as a significant change takes effect.
Never mind whether you want to work from home or the office. Keep in mind where your next big opportunity could be. And keep my team and me in mind when you need someone to research it for you.
https://www.planetizen.com/news/2025/10/136167-manhattan-office-apartment-conversions-doubled-2024
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