Many area companies are finding out they work just fine - and cheaper - having much of its staff work remotely. They need so much less office space. Houston area Real Estate expert Michael Weaster says all you have to do is spot the for-lease signs. "Driving around Houston - I see more and more 'For Lease' signs every day. I see signs in areas that I had never seen signs before." Once the champion of the real estate world, the quarantining and lock-down reaction to the Covid-19 pandemic has made commercial real estate something only for bargain hunters. Weaster says there are now totally empty buildings in Houston and it's spreading. "I have seen so many vacant buildings in Pasadena. I never seen much vacancies in Pasadena before."
Weaster sees a change coming. "I see a correction in the cost of commercial real estate. The amount of leasing with be more abundant - so the price of leasing will go down." Between restaurant and retail locations going completely out of business and businesses no longer needing as much high-priced office space because of the benefit of remote working, Weaster says U.S. commercial property debt climbed to an all-time high in the third quarter of 2020.