Should you invest in Axos Bank?

Axos Financial is highly exposed to America’s commercial-property slump

Financial buildings, New York City
(Image credit: Getty Images)

The past four years have radically changed the landscape of the US property market. The residential market has surged, with the average house price now nearly 50% higher than in January 2020. However, it has been a very different story for the commercial property market due to remote working. Despite the best efforts of some prominent technology companies, all the evidence suggests that the return to the office in the US has stalled. Office vacancy rates have continued to increase as firms decide to save money by not renewing their leases, or selling their offices. 

Around 15% of office space in the United States is vacant (double the pre-Covid figure), but the rates are even higher in the major cities, such as Los Angeles and Chicago. In San Francisco, more than 20% of office space is vacant. This is not only bad news for property companies, but also for banks such as Axos Financial (NYSE: AX)

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Dr Matthew Partridge
Shares editor, MoneyWeek

Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.

He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.

Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.

As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.

Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri