Remote work has become a lasting part of life in New Hampshire, and it’s reshaping the state’s commercial real estate market.
Office space is still in flux. According to Colliers, vacancy rates reached 13.3% towards the end of summer —well above pre-pandemic levels. Companies continue to adjust their space needs, with some downsizing while others expand.
Two key trends are driving the market: a shift toward higher-quality (Class A) buildings and stronger demand for smaller office spaces. Class A vacancies have dropped slightly, showing that tenants prefer better spaces, even as rents decline. Offices around 2,000 square feet remain especially popular, particularly among medical and financial firms.
Remote work is a major reason for these changes. Data from the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute shows about 16% of workers—roughly 121,000 people—worked from home in 2024. That’s down from the pandemic peak but still more than double pre-2020 levels. These shifts are affecting hiring, commuting, housing, and childcare across the state.
Regionally, trends vary. The Manchester office market is tightening, while Portsmouth—especially the Pease International Tradeport—has higher vacancies, with landlords offering incentives to fill larger spaces.
Key Trends
- Smaller footprints: Many companies are renewing leases but reducing space in
- Less overall demand: Over 600,000 square feet of office space has been removed or converted, often into housing, including projects in Dover.
- Hybrid work adjustments: After cutting space sharply early in the pandemic, many firms have settled on 30–40% reductions instead.
- Rise of coworking: Flexible spaces are growing in popularity, such as Red Oak Coworking, HRKNSScowork, and Cooperative Venture Workspace.
- Economic shifts: Remote work is changing where and how people work, with a growing share of jobs no longer tied to a single location.
- More mixed-use development: Vacant offices and industrial spaces are increasingly being converted into residential and mixed-use properties.
Overall, New Hampshire’s office market is still adjusting to a more flexible, remote-first economy and the post-covid norm of working remotely has settled in New Hampshire with a small shift back to office based roles and hybrid working, which as a result, will see the state’s commercial real estate market in an unsettling period for some time yet
