Poll results: office space

The idea of converting empty office space into residential space makes sense on the surface. There’s a housing shortage. There’s a large amount of empty space in office buildings, many of which are still reeling from the post-pandemic work from home trend.

There are places where the conversion is gaining traction. Philadelphia has seen its pipeline of office-to-apartments. Increase 136 percent. Too 975 units. And in Phoenix, similar projects are up 114 percent year. Over year to 1,377 units. These stats come to us from RentCafe, a real estate research firm.

Hurdles exist for sure. Chief among them: offices are made for very specific usage scenarios that could be exorbitantly expensive to adjust. (One bathroom for an entire floor is a typical arrangement.)

More than a quarter of all respondents of the poll suggested the trend will have no impact on the housing market.

Here are the results of HBSDealer’s recent poll on the topic.