Oʻahu's office real estate market underwent many changes during the COVID-19 pandemic as people worked from home and companies downsized or moved out.
But a new report from Colliers Hawaiʻi says the office market rebounded in 2024. The report says the office vacancy rate on Oʻahu declined by nearly 0.75% to 12.7% at the end of the fourth quarter.
Colliers forecasts that that the vacancy rate will decline even more this year. That's because of changes to several Downtown Honolulu towers that have cut office space by a million square feet since 2018.
The reason? Some owners are converting office space to other uses, including apartments and condominiums.
One of the first office buildings to convert to apartments was 1132 Bishop Street. Another building that converted is the former Remington College office building across the street, which is now an AC Hotel by Marriott.
Next up — the Fort Street tower at Topa Financial Center. Avalon Group recently bought the two Topa towers and has plans to convert one for residential use.
Avalon also bought the Davies Pacific Center two years ago and planned to turn its office space into condos, but sales are now on hold while a new plan is formulated.
