Navigating the commuter conundrum: The mismatch between metro momentum and office leasing in the DC metro region

Over the past decade, office leasing in the DC metro region has generally taken a direct relationship with metro ridership, which makes sense given the nature of metro being a commuter rail system. This relationship between office leasing and rail ridership has taken a slight divergence as of late, with metro ridership year-over-year growth being solid since 2020.

Despite this, we still find ourselves at roughly half of pre-pandemic ridership, with office leasing taking a sizeable hit, currently on pace to be at the lowest level in over a decade when analyzed as a function of overall inventory.  With hybrid working arrangements rising in prevalence in the aftermath of the pandemic, both office leasing and metro ridership have suffered immensely, and time will tell what the new normal will be as it relates to both.