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San Francisco Chronicle
4 days ago
- Business
- San Francisco Chronicle
S.F. has more workers returning to the office than Los Angeles
San Francisco's return-to-office rate is gaining steam and jumped ahead of Los Angeles and Denver in July for the first time since the pandemic, according to new cell phone data from location tracking firm San Francisco office visits were down 34.2% in July compared to 2019, narrowly ahead of Los Angeles' 34.6% and Denver's 40% declines in the same period, data released Monday showed. San Francisco is still near the bottom for return to work — it's far below nationwide office visits, which were 21.8% below 2019 levels in July. 'It's obviously a far cry from pre-pandemic,' said R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at of San Francisco. But the artificial intelligence boom is bolstering the return to office, he said, and driving up apartment and office rents. BART reported higher downtown ridership in June as well. As a result, San Francisco saw the biggest percentage jump in office visits in the past 12 months, 21.6%, among the cities that tracks. In contrast, Los Angeles has seen a weaker return to office in part because of lingering disruption from Hollywood actor and writer strikes in 2024 and 2023, Hottovy said. Denver's low ranking reflects a heavily remote working culture, especially for tech, according to The data uses anonymized cell phone location data to measure foot traffic to offices, with 'predefined criteria specific to employee behavior.' Higher return to office rates measure not only workers coming back, but also population and job growth compared to 2019. San Francisco saw a big population drop of 6.3% during the first year of the pandemic, according to census data, but has been growing again modestly. Downtown events like First Thursday and Unstaged street parties are also helping draw office workers and visitors back, businesses and organizers have said. The leaders for return to office are New York, which was 1.3% above its 2019 level, and Miami, which was only 0.1% below its 2019 level in July. It was the first time New York beat its 2019 numbers on data, which Hottovy attributed in part to large employers like banks requiring five days in the office again. 'I don't think we're ever going to quite get to 100% nationally,' Hottovy said. Despite some companies like Amazon and JPMorgan bringing workers back full-time, many companies have embraced at least a couple days at home each week.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NYC leads the pack in post-pandemic return to office
Five years on, New York City office building foot traffic has all but recovered from the 'work from home' losses caused by the pandemic — and here's the proof. Visits to office buildings in April were a mere 5.5% below April 2019 levels, authoritative platform found, making the Big Apple the nation's clear leader in back-to-office trends. Although office visits were also up in most other major US cities compared with the previous month, their average April attendance was 30.7% below 2019's average, according to Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco brought up the rear, with April office visits 42% to 44% below 2019 levels. analyzes cell phone data to determine foot traffic. It covers 1,000 buildings nationwide but doesn't say how many are in each city. The data confirm the larger trend that Realty Check has long observed. It's great news for developers and landlords still beleaugered by reduced property values and high interest rates. But while Manhattan office attendance is clearly surging, is it truly back to 94.5% of pre-pandemic averages, as says? It sure looks that way on Park and Sixth avenues in Midtown, at Hudson Yards and Manhattan West, and at or near the World Trade Center. Office tower lobbies and sidewalks are busy as they haven't been since before March 2019. The large new leases and expansions we've reported since Jan. 1 — by Amazon, Aquarian Holdings, Amalgamated Bank and several law firms — testify to an appetite for space undeterred by 'hybrid' trends. We've written repeatedly that large-scale office returns were taking place even before JPMorgan Chase, Apple, Alphabet and other major companies dragged employees kicking and whining to their desks this year. Even so, let's raise a few polite qualifiers about report. Ongoing conversions of scores of obsolete office towers to apartments removed a significant number of sparsely-populated office buildings from the inventory over the past three years — and, presumably, from analysis. And we wish would share at least some of the locations it monitors — a lack of transparency that also afflicts the notoriously opaque, widely discredited Kastle Back-to-Work Barometer. But even after nitpickings, it's obvious that is immeasurably more accurate than Kastle's survey, which was mainly a marketing gimmick for the company's security services. The 'barometer' counts card-swipes only in mostly Class-B buildings where Kastle provides the services. Executives of the largest real estate companies, such as publicly-traded SL Green and privately-held Related Companies — neither of whose buildings are monitored by Kastle — have told us since mid-2024 that WFH was in the rear-view mirror and no longer a factor in decision-making by landlords or tenants. Even so, many media accounts continued to cite Kastle's lowball claims of 55% office occupancy as recently as last summer — until the preponderance of evidence made it wiser to ignore.
Forbes
01-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Egg Prices May Be Dropping—But Breakfast Chains Are Still Scrambling
Wholesale egg prices have dropped sharply—but consumers aren't feeling the savings just yet. Why ... More breakfast chains are still scrambling to win back diners. A breakfast slowdown isn't unusual in the dead of winter—but this year, it came with a side of economic anxiety and sticker shock. According to new data from visits to breakfast-first chains slumped throughout January and February, reaching a low of -9.8% year-over-year in mid-February. One culprit? Eggs. Or, more specifically, their price. R.J. Hottovy, Head of Analytical Research at cited inclement weather and broader macroeconomic pressures,but pointed out that breakfast-focused chains 'were hit particularly hard due to egg price surcharges.' As costs climbed and chains passed them on, diners simply backed off. Diners are pulling back—not just because of prices, but because they're worried about what's next. Even as prices have started to ease, consumer hesitation lingers. The March Consumer Confidence Index shows that confidence fell for the third month in a row—driven by growing anxiety over job prospects, future income, and persistent inflation. The Expectations Index, which measures short-term outlooks for income, business, and labor markets, dipped to its lowest level since July 2022. That context matters: even if eggs are cheaper and surcharges are fading, many consumers remain cautious about how they spend—especially on non-essential meals like weekday breakfasts out. report tracks a long list of affected brands, from IHOP and Denny's to First Watch and The Original Pancake House. First Watch saw a 10.1% YoY drop in visits during February, while Waffle House—known for its consistent value positioning—weathered the storm slightly better. The message was clear: diners noticed surcharges, and they acted accordingly. Egg prices may be dropping, but recovery is more than just removing surcharges. By March, foot traffic had begun to improve. The week of March 17 showed a -2.0% YoY decline, far better than February's lows. Hottovy credits the removal of egg surcharges and easing prices but says macro pressures are still at play. Meanwhile, operators are doing more than just waiting for costs to come down. According to Technomic's State of the Menu 2025, limited-service chains are growing their core breakfast offerings and rapidly rolling out limited-time offers (LTOs) to stay visible. These efforts aren't just about novelty—they're about value perception. Consumers don't shop by market report—they shop by what's on the shelf. And that gap is still wide In my earlier piece, 'Egg Prices Have Dropped Sharply—But There's More to the Story', I reported on the first signs of relief in the egg market. Since then, wholesale prices have fallen even further. According to the USDA, large white shell eggs in the Midwest dropped to $3.87 per dozen by the end of March, while national prices fell to $3.00 per dozen—a 63% drop from February's peak. Behind the scenes, supply is gradually stabilizing, and processors are keeping pace with demand. Still, that relief hasn't fully reached the checkout line. Retailers remain cautious, waiting to clear out older inventory or to see if prices hold before making major changes to shelf pricing. At the same time, the Department of Justice has opened an antitrust investigation into whether major egg producers artificially inflated prices during the surge. While still in its early stages, this probe underscores lingering consumer concerns about fairness in the market—a trust issue that breakfast chains may need to address as they rebuild. Price sensitivity is one piece of the puzzle. Emotional perception—of value, of financial security, of whether things feel 'worth it'—is another. And when consumer confidence is shaky, even a $1 price drop on eggs might not be enough to swing decisions. CPI data still shows elevated prices for bakery items, coffee and cereal—categories that often accompany eggs on breakfast the feeling that 'everything costs more now' remains sticky. Winning back breakfast diners means meeting them where they are—financially and emotionally. If March's rebound continues into April, it won't just be because ingredient prices fell. It will be because operators read the room: trimming portions without cheapening them, bundling strategically, and offering new items that feel exciting enough to justify the spend. Value isn't just a number—it's a narrative. And as egg prices shift, breakfast chains that can sell that story of value may find themselves back in consumers' good graces sooner than others.
