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The work-from-home trend continues to exert negative pressure on commercial real estate property values, reducing municipal tax revenues, harming local businesses, and threatening the viability of public transit systems. On the federal government level, agencies’ actions to promote permanent remote working are out of step with the direction of private sector employers, who are increasingly recognizing the importance of bringing employees back to the workplace.
The Roundtable supports policies that promote the healthy return of employees to their pre-pandemic workplace practices, including those work for the federal government. The Real Estate Roundtable has urged President Biden and national policymakers for months to end government policies that encourage remote working arrangements for federal employees.
The private sector is adjusting to hybrid work arrangements and assessing their commercial space needs. Meanwhile, the federal government – which employs over 1.3 million civilians in 2,200 communities across the country – is a market leader that influences leasing costs and property values. Federal offices also operate as tenants, with profound impacts on local markets, associated property tax revenue, surrounding small businesses, and their workers.
Biden administration cabinet officials were informed on Aug. 4 by the White House Chief of Staff to increase the return of federal employees to their offices this fall as a “critical” part of fulfilling the mission of government agencies. The Real Estate Roundtable supports this action as an important step forward, but federal agencies must follow through in good faith on the directive.
