Almost 19 percent of office in New York City remain completely empty despite coronavirus restrictions being lifted more than two weeks ago and easing have started months earlier.
Although many companies have either called or are preparing to request workers to return to their offices, the amount of space available to be leased to firms is at an all time high.
The figure illustrates just how much a part of life remote work has quickly become the norm for many would-be office workers - while also having the effect of sending the city's commercial real estate industry into turmoil.
Paradoxically, the surge in the amount of office space comes with a parallel surge in Manhattan residential real estate prices.
Nearly 19% of all office space in Manhattan have no tenants, reaching a record high as companies break leases and adopt remote work
The median resale prices for Manhattan apartments hit $999,000 in the second quarter - an all-time high since before the COVID-19 pandemic hit - according to the report from Douglas Elliman and Miller Samuel.
Average sale prices in the borough rose 12% in the quarter, surpassing $1.9 million.
When it comes to office space, before the pandemic, some 1.6 million people would commute into the city every day. Their presence helping to keep other businesses afloat with everything from shop and restaurants to theaters feeding off the back.
The amount of available space has only increased since the end of 2020 when 15 percent was available to be leased. That number has since jumped to 18.7 percent according to Newmark, a real estate services company.
In Downtown Manhattan, the number is even higher with 21 percent of offices without tenants.
Neighborhoods, such as Downtown Manhattan, are faring worse, with 21% of offices having no tenants
The exodus is similar to what was experienced in the 1970s, when half of the city's 125 Fortune 500 companies moved out as the Big Apple fell into a financial crisis. Pictured, a sign advertising an apartment for rent in a building in Manhattan in 1978
A view of Downtown Manhattan looking towards the Financial District in the 1970s
With more employers allowing their workers to remote work for at least a portion of the working week, companies are now recalculating the amount of space they need and looking to either reduce their square footage in a bid to save costs.
Many New York employers are offering greater flexibility to their work force, allowing at least some remote work even as the pandemic recedes and recalculating their space needs.
'This is as close as we've come to that type of scenario where there's an exodus from the city, and the recovery took 30 years,' said Kathryn Wylde to the New York Times, as president of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business organization Ms. Wylde said.
'The city has to attract people for reasons other than going to the office.
Wylde likens the exodus to what was experienced in the 1970s, when half of the city's 125 Fortune 500 companies moved out as the Big Apple fell into a financial crisis.
New York's financial district, which in pre-pandemic times welcomed many of the city's 1.6m-strong commuter workforce, remains quiet (File photo from March 2021)
The situation is unlikely to resolve in the short term with a third of leases in large Manhattan buildings set to expire in the next three years according to CBRE with many indicating they won't need as much space when the time comes to renew.
The amount of available space is also set to increase as new construction projects which were started pre-pandemic, add a further 14 million square feet of office space to the books.
New York's situation appears to be unique with other cities including Atlanta and Los Angeles showing far more positive indicators that workers have returned to the office.
Some 24.1 percent of offices in Los Angeles are without tenants with a 21.9 percent vacancy rate in Chicago, but both cities already had high rates before the pandemic begun at 18.1 percent and 15.5 percent rate respectively.
'The other cities have become more competitive as a result of the pandemic and the whole remote-work phenomenon,' Wylde said. 'It's going to require a real shift in public policy toward focusing on quality of life, a positive business climate and affordability.'
Hedge funds such as Blackstone and corporate HQs like Jet Blue are pondering their futures in New York, as Covid-19 fears and tax increases make some other states more desirable
Of course, just how quickly offices fill back up will depend on how strict companies are with their workers.
Large tech companies with offices in New York, San Francisco, Seattle and elsewhere - such as Spotify, Facebook, Microsoft, Twitter, Salesforce and Amazon are extending their work-from home policies - some permanently.
But not everyone is on the work-from-home bandwagon: David Solomon, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, has said he wants employees back in the office as soon as
