Report: January Office Building Visitation Rates Show Year-Over-Year Growth Across Multiple Asset Classes and Submarkets

Short First and Third Weeks of January Contributed to Slight Decline in Monthly Averages Compared to December

NEW YORK, NY –The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) today released its latest monthly analysis of Placer.ai location data in 350 Manhattan office buildings. This report tracks mobile data of office tenants and their employees, and, where applicable, also reflects the presence of office visitors and retail customers and employees within those buildings.

According to the report, Manhattan office buildings in January 2024 had an average visitation rate of 63% of 2019 levels. While this level is a year-over-year increase of three percentage points, it also represents a monthly decrease of four percentage points compared to December 2023. Based on visitation data since 2018, February and January are typically the first- and second-slowest months for visitation rates.

The average visitation rate in January would have been higher if not for shorter first and third work weeks of January, due to New Years Day and Martin Luther King Day holidays. The average visitation rate during these two weeks fell to below 60% of the pre-pandemic baseline but rebounded to 70% during the final week of the month.

The highest quality Class A+ properties had a 68% average visitation rate in January while Class A/A- buildings stood at 64% and class B/C buildings at 62%. Class A/A- posted a noticeable year-over-year increase, jumping up from 56% in January 2023.

Looking at average visitation rates by submarket, Midtown saw the biggest year-over-year increase from 62% in January 2023 to 67% in January 2024. Average visitation rates in Downtown buildings were flat year-over-year and slightly declined from 54% in December 2023 to 53% in January 2024.

“Manhattan office building visitation rates posted steady growth through most of the Fall. January’s decrease can largely be attributed to holiday-related office closures,” said Keith DeCoster, Director of Market Data and Policy at the Real Estate Board of New York. “Year-over-year results reflect continued positive momentum for the return to office trend, particularly in higher-end buildings.”

The buildings analyzed in this report include a representative sample of various types of office buildings. Buildings that were not completed by 2019 are not factored in this report or 2023 average visitation rates.

The report analyzes mobile data provided by Placer.ai from geo-fenced buildings, including multiple phones carried by individual visitors. This has no impact on building visitation rates, as the same possibility of individuals carrying multiple phones exists in 2023 and the 2019 baseline.

Findings in this report include visitation data with a minimum dwell time of 7 minutes. In turn, data may include some visitors other than office employees such as building maintenance staff; visitors attending company meetings as well as visitors to retail at the base of an office building. This visitation rate captures the broader economic impact and use of office buildings.

To download the full report and find more information about REBNY research reports, visit //go.rebny.com/Reports.

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