In the US, the pandemic led to an explosion of working from home and even though it is over, people have not returned to the office to the same extent as before.
Analyzes indicate that almost 20 percent of office space in the United States is empty, with potentially large financial consequences as a result. Among other things in Arlington just outside Washington DC.
– This means that almost nine million square meters are empty, says Ryan Touhill, head of Arlington Economics.
Small banks are particularly vulnerable
These are worrying figures for the local economy as commercial premises are one of the area’s biggest tax sources. Among the empty office premises also lurks a threat to the economy at large.
In the Fed’s (US central bank) latest stability report, the commercial real estate market is singled out as a potential area of risk. Namely, commercial properties have a large amount of loans in small banks. It was also the small banks that were in focus this spring when there was talk of a potential bank crash.
– We have to solve the problem from several sides. There is no magic solution that can solve the problem, says Touhill.
Watch when SVT’s reporter visits one of the offices in Arlington that has been converted into a dog daycare in the video above.