Lots of hidden vacancies in offices due to working from home

The question now is whether companies will en masse say goodbye to these superfluous square meters in the near future. The occupancy peak will be decisive for this. “We now see that Tuesday and Thursday are the peak days, when most employees go to the office,” says Colliers researcher Madeline Buijs. “But if you leave that in place, you can’t really use your space more efficiently. Companies are now looking to spread office visits across the week, so they need less space.

Colliers has spoken to fifty organizations and they are trying, for example, to “spread” staff over the week with a booking app or a team roster. The real estate consultant believes that a more homogeneous occupation will reduce the space required per employee from an average of nineteen square meters to sixteen.

No more official vacation?

If companies actually rent fewer meters, the office vacancy rate could increase. But according to Colliers, it won’t happen so quickly. “Companies often have long-term rental contracts, so they can’t get rid of these meters so quickly,” says Buijs. “But we expect them to end up looking critically at how much they rent and what they really need. And that can also lead to a real vacancy.”

The sharp increase in the vacancy rate also depends on how the economy develops in the coming years. There are now over 100,000 office vacancies. “Companies make sure that they don’t have all the square meters they don’t need at the moment. Because if they want to grow, they also need to have room for new employees,” says Buijs.

According to the real estate consultant, there is still room for new sustainable offices in popular locations. But there will be little demand for the old-fashioned business park along the highway. According to Buijs, the increase in office vacancies also offers opportunities for conversion into housing. “Offices themselves are well suited for transformation, which can often be done relatively easily. And it’s not enough for it to be homes, it can also be catering or something else.”