Office Markets Under Pressure as Coronavirus Squeezes Cities

Urban office markets and other commercial real estate in major cities are experiencing their worst stretch in decades, upended by the pandemic, changes in work behavior and struggling city economies. Tourism in most cities has slowed to a trickle, business travel and meetings have all but dried up, and retail sales have plummeted as shoppers stay home. Protests against police brutality and systemic racism have also caused nervous storefront owners to keep their properties boarded up. Cities from Chicago to Houston have suffered a jump in homicides and shootings this summer.