National + Office | December 2, 2020

The Mortgage Bankers Association expects 2022 volume for commercial and multifamily mortgages to be comparable to last year

Recovery in Office Demands Stalls Out in New COVID Surge

The emerging recovery in office space demand has stalled amid a resurgence of COVID-19 and continued economic uncertainty, according to the newly issued VTS Office Demand Index (VODI). Demand is down 56.4% from February, although markedly higher than spring’s low point.

Pre-COVID-19, the national VODI was consistently around 100 for roughly two years. It had slipped to 94 this past February and plummeted to 15 by May. October’s reading is 41.

“This is, by far, the worst contraction in recent history for the office market as businesses grapple with a global pandemic,” said VTS CEO Nick Romito. “While we started to see some signs of life over the summer, businesses experienced a second wave of uncertainty in October due to resurgence of the virus, the elections and the markets. We expect it’s going to be a bumpy ride for months to come, although we’re confident in a long-term recovery.”

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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