Tickers: PGRE, SLG, VNO, BXP, KRC, DEI, ESRT, JBGS, BDN, CUZ, HIW, WE
Subsector: CBD and Suburban Office
Headline: Kastle Systems Back-to-Work Barometer
Office Utilization: Kastle Systems released its weekly office utilization tracker for the 7-day period ending 12/8, which showed an -80bps sequential decline in the 10-city average utilization rate as expected to to 39.8%, which is near the highest reading since the start of the pandemic (Figure 1 below). More static and noise in the weekly figures amidst a pretty consistent, albeit longer-than-expected, uptrend since April 2020. As a reminder this metric tracks "bodies through turnstiles," and is different than "occupancy" which represents tenant leased/occupied space as a percentage of total square feet. 8 of 10 markets showed declines for the week, led by Austin (-200bps to 57.3%), Dallas (-150bps to 50.8%), Houston (-130bps to 53.6%) and New York (-120bps to 35.8%). San Francisco and San Jose both showed sequential increases last week but remain consistently the worst performers of the markets tracked. If the past COVID case count and hospitalization cycles are any indication, it is likely that there will be upcoming declines in utilization rates, albeit less severe than Fall 2020 and with the Delta variant surge. Each successive case count cycle has been less impactful on the return to office.
One additional thing we would like to point out: yesterday Morgan Stanley CEO, James Gorman, very publicly walked back his comments/pressure to fully return to the physical office and said that the current pace would likely extend through most of 2022. Gorman was widely viewed as being on the more extreme end of things even for the financial services industry. We strongly suspect internal employee pushback, bad optics, and quite frankly the very real (and new) threat of voluntary employee attrition particularly amongst those in prime earning years. This is a new fact of life that the office market will have to deal with, and we contend it fundamentally changes intermediate-to-long-term bargaining power in the market.
Figure 1: Kastle Back-to-Work Barometer for Week Ending 12/8
Source: Kastle Systems
Prior Notes:
12.12.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 12.12.21 | (WE)
12.11.21 - EVENT REMINDER | FIRESIDE CHAT W/ WEWORK CEO SANDEEP MATHRANI
12.10.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 12.10.21 | (ESRT)
12.8.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 12.8.21 | (APARTMENT RENT TRACKER, U.S. OFFICE UTILIZATION)
12.7.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 12.7.21 | (SLG)
12.6.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 12.6.21 | (WE NOVEMBER OPERATIONS UPDATE)
12.5.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 12.5.21 | (PGRE, EGP, PLYM, MAA, CPT, O, EPR)
12.2.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 12.2.21 | (WE)
12.1.21 - IGNORE CNBC RE: WEWORK RESTATEMENT | 12.1.21 | (WE)
12.1.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 12.1.21 | (U.S. OFFICE UTILIZATION, WE)
11.30.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.30.21 | (AMH)
11.28.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 11.28.21 | (COLD)
11.23.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.23.21 | (U.S. OFFICE UTILIZATION, WE)
11.21.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 11.21.21 | (WE)
11.19.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.19.21 | (CUBE)
11.17.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.17.21 | (STYLE FACTOR WORK)
11.16.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.16.21 | (U.S. OFFICE UTILIZATION)
11.15.21 - CUBE ANNOUNCES STABILIZED ACQUISITION | 11.15.21
11.15.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.15.21 | (WE, ILPT)
11.14.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 11.14.21 | (CUBE, EXR, LSI, NSA)
11.11.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.11.21 | (LSI, NYC CBD OFFICE)
11.10.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.10.21 | (UHAL, CONE, COR, NSA, PSA)
11.9.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.9.21 | (U.S. OFFICE UTILIZATION, SFR)
11.7.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 11.7.21 | (APARTMENT RENTAL RATE TRACKER, POSITION MONITOR UPDATE)
11.4.21 - REIT RECAP | 11.4.21 | AMH 3Q21 RESULTS
11.4.21 - REIT RECAP | 11.4.21 | CUBE 3Q21 RESULTS
11.4.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.4.21 | (COLD, IRM, EARNINGS SURPRISE MONITOR)
11.3.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.2.21 | (LSI, POSITION MONITOR UPDATE)
11.2.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 11.2.21 | (PSA, U.S. OFFICE UTILIZATION)
11.1.21 - REIT RECAP | 11.1.21 | PSA 3Q21 RESULTS
10.31.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 10.31.21 | (3Q21 EARNINGS SURPRISES, POSITION MONITOR)
10.28.21 - REIT RECAP | 10.28.21 | CPT 3Q21 RESULTS
10.28.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.28.21 | (EXR)
10.28.21 - REIT RECAP | 10/28/21 | INVH 3Q21 RESULTS
10.28.21 - REIT RECAP | 10/27/21 | AVB 3Q21 RESULTS
10.27.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.27.21 | (3Q21 Earnings, AVB, EXR, Office)
10.26.21 - REIT RECAP | 10/26/21 | EXR 3Q21 RESULTS
10.26.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.26.21 | (EQR, REXR)
10.25.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 10.24.21 | (POSITION MONITOR)
10.21.21. - REIT RECAP | 10/21/21 | REXR 3Q21 RESULTS
10.20.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.20.21 | (EGP, PLYM, REXR, ILPT)
10.19.21 - VIDEO | American Homes 4 Rent (AMH) Thesis
10.19.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.19.21 | (COLD, SLG, VNO, AMH, U.S. Office Utilization)
10.18.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.18.21 | (PLD)
10.17.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 10.17.21 | (PLD, POSITION MONITOR)
10.15.21 - REIT RECAP | 10/15/21 | PLD 3Q21 RESULTS
10.13.21 - REITS DAILY BRIEF | 10.13.21 | (PLD)
10.10.21 - SUNDAY NIGHT REIT READ | 10.10.21 | (POSITION MONITOR UPDATE)
10.8.21 - BLACK BOOK ROUND-UP | AMERCO (UHAL)
10.7.21 - BEST IDEA ROUND-UP | AMERICOLD REALTY TRUST (COLD)
Please e-mail with any questions.
Rob Simone, CFA
Managing Director
Twitter: @HedgeyeREITs
