Consequences of home office
One in four large companies wants to downsize offices
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
More and more people are working from home. Large companies in particular are therefore significantly reducing their office space. An expert warns that the consequences will be particularly noticeable in terms of prices on the real estate market.
Large companies in particular are reducing their office space due to the increased work from home. 6.2 percent have already done this, as the Munich Ifo Institute announced in its survey. Another 8.3 percent plan to do so in the next five years. “This trend is particularly strong among service providers and large companies that use the majority of office space,” said Ifo researcher Simon Krause. “One in four of these companies has downsized their office space or is planning to do so.”
The home office rate in Germany has been stable for almost two years at a quarter of employees and two thirds of companies. “Despite requests from individual companies to return to the office, regular work from home has become established,” explained Krause. “Companies have therefore gradually adjusted their office space requirements.” Since rental agreements are often concluded on a long-term basis, the overall effect is likely to occur with a delay. “Based on our studies, we expect that in the long term the demand for office space will fall by around twelve percent due to home offices,” said Ifo expert Krause.
Service providers and large companies most often considered reducing office space. 11.8 percent of large service companies have already downsized, and 14.0 percent want to do so within the next five years. In industry, on the other hand, there are fewer office downsizings (5.6 percent completed, 6.8 percent planned). The same is true in retail (1.7 percent completed, 4.5 percent planned), in the construction industry (0.2 percent completed, 1.6 percent planned) and in small companies (4.2 percent completed, 6.1 percent planned). ).
“The reduction in office space poses challenges for the tense real estate market,” said Krause. “Combined with economic uncertainty, increased interest rates and construction costs, there is no quick recovery in sight.”
