Business
Pandemic Recovery: Have North American Downtowns Bounced Back?
Pandemic Recovery: Have Downtowns Bounced Back?
As we continue on our journey towards recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, North American offices that sat empty for months have started to welcome back in-person workers.
This small step towards normalcy has sparked questions around the future of office life—will office culture eventually bounce back to pre-pandemic levels, or is remote work here to stay?
It’s impossible to predict the future, but one way to gauge the current state of office life is by looking at foot traffic across city centers in North America. This graphic measures just that, using data from Avison Young.
Change in Downtown Office Traffic
According to the data, which measures foot traffic in major office buildings in 23 different metropolitan hubs across North America, remains drastically below pre-pandemic levels.
Across all major cities included in the index, average weekday visitor volume has fallen by 73.7% since the early months of 2020. Here’s a look at each individual city’s change in foot traffic, from March 2, 2020 to Oct 11, 2021:
City | Country | Change in Foot Traffic |
---|---|---|
Austin | 🇺🇸 | -51.70% |
Calgary | 🇨🇦 | -54.50% |
Boston | 🇺🇸 | -54.90% |
New York | 🇺🇸 | -60.50% |
San Francisco | 🇺🇸 | -60.80% |
Edmonton | 🇨🇦 | -62.20% |
Houston | 🇺🇸 | -67.90% |
Chicago | 🇺🇸 | -68.10% |
Vancouver | 🇨🇦 | -68.20% |
Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 | -68.60% |
Philadelphia | 🇺🇸 | -69.00% |
Washington, DC | 🇺🇸 | -69.40% |
San Francisco Peninsula | 🇺🇸 | -70.00% |
Denver | 🇺🇸 | -73.50% |
Nashville | 🇺🇸 | -75.60% |
East Bay/Oakland | 🇺🇸 | -76.10% |
Atlanta | 🇺🇸 | -77.50% |
Dallas | 🇺🇸 | -79.80% |
Montreal | 🇨🇦 | -80.30% |
Toronto | 🇨🇦 | -81.20% |
Miami | 🇺🇸 | -82.20% |
Silicon Valley | 🇺🇸 | -82.60% |
Ottawa | 🇨🇦 | -87.70% |
The Canadian city of Calgary is a somewhat unique case. On one hand, foot traffic has bounced back stronger than many other downtowns across North America. On the other hand, the city has one of the highest commercial vacancy rates in North America, and there are existential questions about what comes next for the city.
Interestingly, a number of cities with a high proportion of tech jobs, such as Austin, Boston, and San Francisco bounced back the strongest post-pandemic. Of course, there is one noteworthy exception to that rule.
A Tale of Two Cities
Silicon Valley has experienced one of the most significant drops in foot traffic, at -82.6%. Tech as an industry has seen one of the largest increases in remote work, as Bay Area workers look to escape high commuter traffic and high living expenses. A recent survey found that 53% of tech workers in the region said they are considering moving, with housing costs being the primary reason most respondents cited.
Meanwhile, in a very different part of North America, another city is experienced a sluggish rebound in foot traffic, but for very different reasons. Ottawa, Canada’s capital, is facing empty streets and struggling small businesses that rely on the droves of government workers that used to commute to downtown offices. Unlike Silicon Valley, where tech workers are taking advantage of flexible work options, many federal workers in Ottawa are still working from home without a clear plan on returning to the workplace.
It’s also worth noting that these two cities are home to a lot of single-occupant office buildings, which is a focus of this data set.
Some Businesses Remain Hopeful
Despite a slow return to office life, some employers are snapping up commercial office space in preparation for a potential mass return to the office.
Back in March 2021, Google announced it was planning to spend over $7 billion on U.S. office space and data centers. The tech giant held true to its promise—in September, Google purchased a Manhattan commercial building for $2.1 billion.
Other tech companies like Alphabet and Facebook have also been growing their office spaces throughout the pandemic. In August 2021, Amazon leased new office space in six major U.S. cities, and in September 2020, Facebook bought a 400,000 square foot complex in Bellevue, Washington.
Will More Employees Return or Stay Remote?
It’s important to note that we’re still in the midst of pandemic recovery, which means the jury’s still out on what our post-pandemic world will look like.
Will different cities and industries eventually recover in different ways, or are we approaching the realities of “new normal” foot traffic in North American city centers?
Markets
The Fastest Rising U.S. Housing Markets in 2024
As U.S. home prices hit record highs, which housing market is seen the fastest growth? This graphic shows the top 10 across the country.
The Fastest Rising U.S. Housing Markets in 2024
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
The U.S. housing market has been on a tear, with median sales prices rising more than 40% since February 2020.
While cities in southern states like Florida have witnessed some of the strongest price growth, more affordable cities across the Midwest are also seeing growing demand as buyers seek out cheaper options.
This graphic shows the U.S. metros with the fastest price growth, based on data from Redfin.
Hottest Housing Markets in America
Below, we rank the metropolitan areas with the fastest annual median sales price growth as of February 2024:
Rank | Metro | Median Sales Price Growth Feb 2024 YoY |
---|---|---|
1 | Pittsburgh, PA | +22.0% |
2 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | +18.0% |
3 | Greensboro, NC | +17.8% |
4 | Meridian, ID | +17.3% |
5 | Toledo, OH | +17.0% |
6 | Boca Raton, FL | +16.4% |
7 | West Palm Beach, FL | +16.1% |
8 | Orlando, FL | +15.9% |
9 | Milwaukee, WI | +15.6% |
10 | Alexandria, VA | +15.4% |
U.S. average | +6.5% |
Pittsburgh, PA soars to the top of the list, with median sale prices jumping 22% over the year.
Once known as a center for steel and iron manufacturing, the city has emerged as a hub for high-tech industries including robotics, software engineering, and healthcare. At a time when housing affordability is near record lows, buyers have flocked to the market thanks to its lower home prices. In February, median sales prices in Pittsburgh were $250,000 compared to the U.S. median price of $412,219.
Following next in line is Fort Lauderdale, FL with prices jumping 18% annually. Like several cities across the state, property values have boomed thanks to the state’s warm climate and low taxes. The state also ranks as one of the best in the country to retire. In 2023, it was one of the fastest growing states in the country, adding 365,205 residents overall.
As we can see, just one housing market in the West, Meridian, ID, is experiencing some of the strongest price growth in the country. Since the pandemic, many Californians priced out of expensive real estate markets have moved to the state due to its strong job market, low crime rate, and affordability. In fact, Los Angeles and San Francisco are some of the top metropolitan areas nationally that people are moving away from due to remote-work trends and the high cost of living.
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