DALLAS — Just because Texas announced plans to rescind its statewide face mask orders, don't expect to see every company return 100 percent to the office by next week. However, members of the local commercial real estate community are feeling positive about the news.
"The governor's announcement yesterday was extremely well received at our offices. Our office team was buzzing and fist bumps were exchanged when the news came down. It was also well received from our clients. Many ... have been wanting to have a good reason to bring more of their people back to the office," said Tom Lynn, chairman and office division president for NAI Robert Lynn.
Local real estate professionals say even before Tuesday's announcement, most companies had already been slowly returning to the office. Since last year, Dallas has been a leading market for daily office occupancy, according to Kastle Systems.
While the end of the state's mask requirement will help some people feel like things are getting back to normal, most brokers agree that the real driver for office occupancy will be continued vaccinations and eventual herd immunity. On Tuesday, President Joe Biden announced that by May, there will be enough vaccines produced for every adult in the U.S.
"I'm not sure lifting the mask mandate will have any impact on workers returning to the office quicker. I believe most tenants are tracking daily case counts and hospitalizations due to COVID-19 as metrics for their decision to be in the office or work from home," said Hunter Lee, managing partner at HPI's Dallas office. "As the various vaccinations become more readily available to the general public, I believe you will see a dramatic increase in companies returning to the office."
The end of a mask mandate in Texas may also not immediately impact larger companies but could influence other states to make similar policy decisions. On the same day that Texas ended its mask requirement, Mississippi did, too.
"I don’t think it will speed up national tenants from their summer timeline, but I do think the Texas initiative will entice other states to follow suit, leading corporations to bring their employees back," said Sarah Hinkley Kennington, partner at Thirty-Four Commercial.
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