Personal Finance
personal-finance
Millie Giles

Office-to-apartment conversions in US cities keep rising, but many remain incomplete

With office vacancies still hovering around 30-year highs, and finding a good apartment deal in America’s most popular cities remaining a near-mythical pursuit for many, property developers have found an obvious, if not-particularly-cozy, solution: turning empty corporate hubs into blocks of private homes.

The number of office-to-apartment conversions currently in progress across the US increased to 70,700 in January. That’s up 28% from the same period last year and ~3x the number recorded for 2022, data analysis from RentCafe reported by Axios has found.

Office-to-apartment conversions
Sherwood News

Still, the task of renovating workplaces into homes is no small feat. Even as thousands of new conversions are still being proposed to cities, developers have actually completed less than 7% of office-to-apartment units that were under construction in 2024. But, with the pandemic-era trend of working from home still persisting even amidst a flurry of return-to-office orders, America’s demand for homes appears stronger than its demand for office space.

More Personal Finance

See all Personal Finance
Saleah Blancaflor
5/15/26
From Desi Arnaz to SpaceX: Understanding the rules of the modern economy

We talked with “Planet Money” author Alex Mayyasi about how AI might help or replace you, the superstar effect, and how the compounding effect extends beyond money.

Globes covered with various currencies suspended in space
personal-finance
Millie Giles

Ahead of Mother’s Day, Google searches for “same day flower delivery” have ticked up a little earlier this year

If you’ve already made plans for a Mother’s Day gift in advance of this Sunday, congratulations. But if alarm bells are suddenly ringing, consider this a gentle reminder that, like a sizable share of the US population this time of year often does, you can still scrape together some last-minute flowers for the woman who carried you for nine months.

Data from Google Trends reveals that searches for “same day flower delivery” spike in the US in May every year, when Mother’s Day takes place. As we noted last February, the same query also gains traction around Valentine’s Day.

Flower
Sherwood News

This year, however, it appears that searches for last-minute flowers have remained elevated in the last two months after the usual peak in February — with the search interest this April actually exceeding that seen around Cupid’s Day.

Honestly, we’re not sure why searches are spiking a little early. One explanation might be that Passover and Easter have overlapped at the start of April, and Americans wanted to celebrate with some flowers. Maybe it’s a host of Claude bots that are now running errands for AI-obsessed execs — or perhaps Americans are just impulse-buying some seasonal spring blooms after an unusually warm March, without a particular occasion.

Graduate holding scroll and wearing robe, standing with parents

Which US cities give new grads the best shot in 2026?

The ideal place to start a career might be less about prestige and more about where the paycheck stretches furthest.

Hyunsoo Rim5/6/26
Millie Giles
HOLDING FIRE
5/1/26
US jobless claims have sunk to the lowest level in more than 50 years

Fewer people are claiming unemployment benefits, as BLS data shows the US labor market hiring less and firing less.

People Working in Office
Millie Giles
ALTER ALGO
4/29/26
Maryland is set to be the first state to ban dynamic pricing at grocery stores

The first-of-its-kind legislation comes amid a growing trend for putting algorithm-driven price systems on US shelves.

Vegetables market with shelves and prices. Eco supermarket, ripe, healthy, organic grocery store. Vector illustration

Latest Stories

Sherwood Media, LLC and Chartr Limited produce fresh and unique perspectives on topical financial news and are fully owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc., and any views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of any other Robinhood affiliate, including Robinhood Markets, Inc., Robinhood Financial LLC, Robinhood Securities, LLC, Robinhood Crypto, LLC, Robinhood Money, LLC, Robinhood U.K. Ltd, Robinhood Derivatives, LLC, Robinhood Gold, LLC, Robinhood Asset Management, LLC, Robinhood Credit, Inc., Robinhood Ventures DE, LLC and, where applicable, its managed investment vehicles.
©2026 Sherwood Media, LLC