The office vacancy rate in metro Pittsburgh is climbing.
The big picture: Reduced demand for office space after the pandemic is still shaking up the region's real estate market.
Office vacancies hit a new high nationwide last year with 20.4% of office space in the country's top 50 metro areas empty, per Moody's latest tally.
By the numbers: The Pittsburgh region's vacancy rate reached 21.9% in 2024, accelerating after 2020. That's up from 12.4% in 2000.
Moody's suggests two adjustments could reduce vacancies, Axios' Emily Peck reports, including converting offices into residential properties like the GNC building project.
What's next: A report by real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle this year noted Pittsburgh's proposed $600 million Downtown revitalization plan that includes office-to-residential conversions may start to balance supply and demand — at least in the city's core that had a vacancy rate as low as 19.6% in the second quarter of last year, according to the firm.