02/15/2024

The Prevalence of Vacant Office Spaces Across the Country

They could be a solution to a national problem

Across the United States, empty office buildings are leaving once-bustling downtown areas with less foot traffic and are forcing experts, residents and officials to figure out what exactly will happen with these vacant structures.

A recent study from the real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield found that about a fifth of U.S. office space was vacant as of the end of last year. The vacancy rate varies, with cities like Los Angeles, Houston and Cincinnati hovering around 25 percent and cities like Savannah and Naples coming in under 5 percent.

The high rate of vacancy is about more than just the shift to a work-from-home culture because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to David Smith, the head of Americas Insights at Cushman & Wakefield, who authored the study.

Please select this link to read the complete article from NPR.