The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the USA into a work-from-home economy. 42% of the US labor force were working from home in June 2020, far outweighing the number still working on business premises.
But lately, more and more companies are thinking about a return to the office.
The question is, how? Is flexible renting our new normal? Or are there good reasons to buy office space in 2021?
Let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of buying office space in 2021!
The Pros of Buying Office Space
A huge upside of purchasing a new office, or buying additional office space, is certainty.
Owning your office means your costs are fixed. If you’re looking to buy, you only need to think about the average cost of buying an office in your area. You’re free from the unpredictability of the rental market.
In fact, owning your office can unlock additional ways to generate income. Office a bit bigger than you need right now? Just rent out the surplus space.
And, of course, the investments you make in your office builds your equity in it.
It’s not all financials! A huge advantage of owning your office is being able to set your own rules. That means you can prioritize the needs of your employees and your business however you see fit.
Given that Pluris Real Estate says that the safety and convenience of employees is driving lots of demand for office space right now, that last one might be the biggest upside of all.
The Cons, or Why Renting Is Still Worth Considering
There are some downsides to buying office space, though. If there weren’t, every business on Earth would be asking how to buy office space and no one would rent at all.
Office space buyers gain certainty, but they sacrifice flexibility. If you gain or lose a lot of employees and need to switch premises, it’s a lot harder when you have to deal with your now-inadequate property first.
Renters, meanwhile, can upscale or downsize with relative ease.
Likewise, while owning your office can bring significant financial benefits down the line, it comes at the cost of a huge initial outlay. If you’re a big business, that might be fine, but smaller enterprises might prefer to use that money elsewhere.
That’s why so many businesses that want to stay nimble choose to rent their offices instead.
What Do You Really Need?
Like so many things in business, the question of renting vs buying office space comes down to correctly identifying your business’ own needs and acting on them.
Is your business big, stable, and unlikely to undergo big upheavals? You’ll probably benefit from the security that buying office space provides, and could even make a financial opportunity of it.
On the other hand, if you’re a small startup with an unpredictable future, the flexibility of renting could be for you.
It’s all a matter of thinking about the future.
Like this article? Check out the rest of our site for more!