If you’ve noticed your office feels smaller lately, it might not be your imagination.
The average size of office transactions has fallen by about 50 percent since 1997, The Real Deal reports. That means it’s time to get a little cuddlier with your co-workers, as employers replace private offices with shared spaces and open floor plans.
It could also reflect changes in the way people do business — requiring fewer employees, or having them work more from home. For brokers, that means smaller deals may be where the action is. According to the article, the 30 percent of the market made up of deals under the 20,000-square-foot mark is growing at the expense of larger transactions.
“It affects what the recovery looks like,” said Josh Scoville, director of U.S. research at CoStar (CSGP), which provided the data for the article. “It’s fueled more by smaller tenants and less by large.”
The Real Deal also spoke with Cynthia Wasserberger of Jones Lang LaSalle, who spoke with The Commercial Observer about nine small deals at 400 Madison since January. Ms. Wasserman said smaller spaces allow landlord and tenant alike flexibility. “The owner can be nimble,” she said. Pre-built office spaces mean “tenants can drop into the building pretty quickly.”
Now, of course, if you haven’t actually moved and your office still seems to be shrinking, you should probably get that checked out.
lkusisto@observer.com
