DFW’s Office Busyness Index – ongoing improvement across the board, but some suburban markets continue to lag

Avison Young recently released the Office Busyness Index that utilizes cell phone mobility data to assess daily employee activity and visitation to office space across major U.S. markets. As of June 2024, the US office sector had rebounded to 61.9% of where it stood in June 2019, before the COVID lockdowns and the office sector’s accelerated move to remote and hybrid work.

In comparison, DFW came in slightly ahead at 62.6%. While these are the “averages,” there is a wide range in how DFW’s office assets have recovered across the market – dependent on submarket location, the property specifics, and individual tenancy. In profiling DFW, Dallas’ urban core has fared much better than other parts of the market. Dallas’ CBD and neighboring Uptown submarkets show that office utilization has returned to the 90% mark, with Uptown taking the lead at 93.3%.

DFW’s close-in suburban submarkets (Central Expressway, LBJ Freeway, and Preston Center) are also outperforming. This solid return to the office is likely driven by the established and easy commuting patterns for these close-in suburbs from the extensive nearby single and multifamily housing.

For DFW’s next tier of suburban employment hubs, the return to office has been more modest, even though some of these areas represent the region’s dominant office hubs (like the Dallas North Tollway and US 75). These areas have seen a return to office of 60% – more in line with the broader averages. While very popular locations prior to the shift, these hubs tend to have longer, more congested commutes and are more traditionally suburban in character, having fewer walkable amenities.

Interestingly, the closer-in lower tollway (Quorum | Bent Tree) comes in at 74.5%.  MidCities, in contrast, is only at 55.8%, with the Fortune 1,000 favorite, Las Colinas, at 52.2%. These lower shares are likely driven by the somewhat more distant locations across the midsection of DFW, very broad employee commuting patterns, a varied office product ranging from trophy towers to new high density suburban development and older stock, and a broad office tenancy base.