Toronto’s office vacancy rate is now higher than it’s been for nearly 30 years — and peak vacancy could be years away

Study shows vacancy rate hits 15 per cent this year as companies struggle with post-pandemic employees refusing to make the commute

Source: Toronto’s office vacancy rate is now higher than it’s been for nearly 30 years — and peak vacancy could be years away

see also: America’s downtown centers wither amid fading hopes for a post-pandemic office boom

what is normal vacancy rate of large cities? is between 12%-20% post pandemic? many $$ invested in this, but no one needs?
but wehy are businesses so concerced? unoess they own the buildiong, a company can downsize; seems to me businesse should want to rediuced office space rented, osdo lert peoile wfh unless uit effecting prodctuvity? but the ones holding the martgage on the office spce/building don’twant this; ecess space drives rents down as well as reducing revenue. or is the same thing?

the article suggest 2% is normal:

“A new study by commercial real estate firm CBRE found that the vacancy rate for downtown Toronto office space hit 15.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, the highest it’s been since 1995. That’s up from just two per cent in March 2020, when the pandemic was declared.”

and:

“New York alone has lost $453 billion in office real estate. Across the U.S., office buildings have shed anywhere from 40 to 80 percent of their value.”