The relationship between where people work and where they live has been recalibrated. The GAO’s 2026 telework report synthesizes evidence from empirical studies and metropolitan planning organizations to map the real estate consequences — and they run in opposite directions depending on where you look. In central business districts, the picture is one of contraction. Office vacancy rates climbed as hybrid schedules hollowed out weekday occupancy. A prior GAO report documented that between August 2022 and January 2024, prices fell across all commercial property types — office, multi-family, retail, lodging — with the single exception of industrial properties.