2022 Real Estate Observations (Boston, Somerville, Waltham: vs, retired, commute)

[msRB311]

My office doesn't even have room for everyone to be there anymore.

If you really believe you have lost touch with reality.

People were WFH before the pandemic began.

People are still spending money in other places even if they arent spending it on a commute or a sandwich at a place in Boston.

[yesmaybe]

Originally Posted by massnative71

Please share the source of this info.

I'd go as far to say that the Orange Line shutdown was because the Gov got tipped off that this was going down and thought it'd be a good idea to try to get 5 years of repairs done before the surge happens.

(Course being the MBTA it may end up not working)

[msRB311]

My department is hiring and expects to hire 40 more positions this year. Not everyone is afraid of losing their job and working remote or in an office has nothing to do with it. I saw people get laid off over the summer at companies and some of those people were going into the office.

You have again been talking about people being threatened to return to the office since 2020. At this point many people have returned to the office (some never stopped going in). You are really reaching for things that aren't there.

I think most people want to be hybrid and I dont think anyone cares what the goverment thinks.

[BosYuppie]

To paraphrase Don Draper, once the slow zones are lifted, people will think the 1 month shutdown never happened. You'll be shocked how much it never happened.

They really need to do this to each line on a rotating basis (except maybe the Blue which is in good shape)

[msRB311]

I think there would have been a much worse affect if the red line had shut down. Not sure on green line...

[matrix5k]

Traffic is the same as pre pandemic in my experience. If you're not on I-95 or I-93 before 2:30pm then you'll be stuck in stop and go traffic. The summer traffic was the same as before. It would take nearly an hour to drive from Burlington to Salem on a weekend afternoon.

[bostongymjunkie]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Traffic levels during the morning are still nowhere near 2019. Clearly a large % are still WFH.

Not so sure about that. I think at least some part of Boston traffic connects to those bus, bike, and turn-only lanes that were implemented as a measure for the Orange Line project and then made permanent by Royal decree - and no traffic impact studies.

https://www.boston.com/news/local-ne...1=hp_secondary

[simplexsimon]

Is traffic back all days? I was under the impression it was the middle of the week that traffic was back and that M/F is lighter compared to pre-pandemic.

The nature of commuting has shifted too, more driving less ride sharing, less train use.

Any numbers available about jobs in Boston? My company has hired a lot of people over the last two years so even if WFH is 50%, the increased number of employees offset that a bit.

[bricka]

Originally Posted by yesmaybe

Companies want people to RTO
Companies ask Fed to crash stock market to scare people into RTO thinking they will lose their jobs if they refuse

lmao

i've heard a lot of takes on rate hikes but this one is a first and also an instant classic

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by matrix5k

Traffic is the same as pre pandemic in my experience. If you're not on I-95 or I-93 before 2:30pm then you'll be stuck in stop and go traffic. The summer traffic was the same as before. It would take nearly an hour to drive from Burlington to Salem on a weekend afternoon.

Yeah. Traffic is just as bad now as pre-pandemic or it might even be worse. I long for those months when everyone was locked up in their house and you could drive anywhere in 5 minutes.

With all of the reporting saying that such a significant percentage of people WFH, I'm always incredibly surprised by how much traffic there is. I wouldn't be surprised if fewer people are doing things like carpooling and taking public transportation these days because of COVID.