Real estate
fromStoreys
13 hours agoCanadian Office Vacancy Expected To Hit Pre-Pandemic Levels By 2029
Office vacancy rates peaked in mid-2025 and are projected to fall toward pre-pandemic levels by 2029 as return-to-office mandates increase.
In early January, the Ford government's return-to-office (RTO) mandate took effect, ordering 60,000 public servants back to the office. The move culminates more than a year of RTO mandates from big names in tech and finance, reaching a fever pitch in late 2025, and has put a significant amount of pressure on Toronto's office market. The trend is reversing years of near-stagnant activity in the downtown commercial real estate scene, which took a big hit from COVID-era work-from-home policies.