Nearly a year and a half into the pandemic, the future of remote work remains unclear, with rumblings afoot in the professional services and tech sectors over who will return to the office first (and where). The outcomes of these decisions will influence not only where people work, but where they live and where they shop, according to John Chang, senior vice president and director of Research Services at Marcus & Millichap. 

"Several core gateway markets experienced a significant exodus when companies shifted to working from home," Chang said. "Office workers left the urban core of cities like San Francisco, New York, Boston, Chicago, and Washington D.C., moving either to the local suburbs or other cities altogether. And now the big question is whether employees will return to these major urban hubs."

But there's a disconnect: while many companies are pushing for full return to in-office work, many employees don't want to return. Financial services firms like JPMorgan are learning heavily toward a full return, citing the benefits of productivity and collaboration. On the flip side, tech-centered companies like Apple, Google, and Twitter (as well as institutions like Citigroup and Vanguard) are choosing more flexible models.