The conversion of office buildings to residential is a lasting and growing byproduct of the COVID-19 pandemic, which catapulted remote working to the forefront and made it a continuing trend. Plumbing and fire protection will be central to the conversions, with plumbing the big beneficiary.
Fundamental to these conversions is a national office vacancy rate that reached a nearly 30-year-high of 17.1% in the third quarter of 2022, according to CBRE, which adds that “A surplus of available office space will continue to weigh on fundamentals for the foreseeable future.”