A real-estate billionaire said Fridays are ‘dead forever’ for offices and remote work guru Nick Bloom says he’s right—it’s part of a new 3-part week | Canada News Media
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A real-estate billionaire said Fridays are ‘dead forever’ for offices and remote work guru Nick Bloom says he’s right—it’s part of a new 3-part week

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In June, Steven Roth, the billionaire chairman of Vornado, one of New York City’s biggest commercial landlords, said that as far as in-office work is concerned, Fridays are “dead forever”. He added that Mondays weren’t far behind (“touch and go,” as he phrased it).

Now, Nick Bloom, Stanford economics professor and head of WFH Research—a group that has been digging into remote work data since before the pandemic—has officially deemed Roth correct.

“Friday has become the day to #wfh,” Bloom tweeted on Friday, adding that it “looks like he [Steven Roth] was right.” But as always with Bloom and his vaunted remote work research, there is more to the story.

Despite the fact that offices have been completely desolate on Fridays for over three years now, Bloom told Fortune that he was nonetheless surprised that Roth’s prediction has ended up bearing out. “I thought this would be more stable, but I guess … Friday [is] increasingly winning out in the WFH stakes,” Bloom told Fortune by email on Friday. “I think it’s part of the bigger push towards coordinated hybrid, whereby we have firms pushing for folks to come in on the same days.”

In-person socializing and collaboration, as always, is the main appeal for office work. As a result, Bloom said, it makes sense to coordinate with one’s coworkers, among whom the consensus has been made clear: “That includes coordinating to be home on Friday.” Indeed, coordinating in-office days among teams is the best way to pull off “organized hybrid,” the term Bloom uses to describe the gold standard working arrangement.

The new Friday calculus shows Bloom that there is now a “3-part week,” he tweeted. Mondays through Thursday are one thing, the weekend, when offices are closed, is another—and then there’s Friday.

Back-to-work mandates rarely include Friday

While it’s certainly unlikely that cubicles will ever be populated on Saturdays and Sundays, Fridays may still have a fighting chance—especially given how many major corporations have finally put their foot down about returning to the office. For years, many high-profile companies have faced fierce resistance from employees they’ve ordered back to work.

Amazon instituted a three-day minimum for in-person work back in February. The policy faced its latest snafu earlier this week when some employees got a disciplinary email even though they’d been complying with the new rules. Google also has a policy of a mandatory three-days in the office, and will reportedly only consider full-time remote work in exceptional circumstances.

Meanwhile, Salesforce upped the ante even further, with an obligatory four days in-person for some teams. Based on Bloom’s research one might suspect the lone work-from-home day for Salesforce employees might naturally be Friday.

Bloom also has data to back up that employers and employees don’t see eye to eye on the number of days they’re meant to be in the office. On average, there’s about half a workday’s difference between the number of days workers would like to be in the office compared to what their bosses expect—or require, WFH Research has found.

Per a recent report from real estate consulting firm JLL, bosses have mandated a return (at least some days per week) for 1.5 million workers, and another million are set to be given the same threat in the back half of this year.

Even though more and more companies are beginning to formalize exactly when employees are allowed to work from home, the practice remains widespread. An estimated 58% of workers—a figure that when extrapolated to the entire U.S. workforce would be equal to 92 million people—can work remotely some days of the week, per June research from McKinsey. Naturally, the fact that at least one of those days will be Friday is all but a given.

 

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Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

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TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.

“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”

The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.

New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.

The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.

“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.

“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”

He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.

“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.

“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”

All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.

Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.

“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.

“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

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HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

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Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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