The backlog in maintenance and repair needs for buildings owned by the federal government has more than doubled in the last decade, going from around $170 billion to $370 billion.
So says a new report just issued by the Government Accounting Office additionally asserting that the way many government offices have been laid out, is “not well configured to meet modern office needs.”
If federal agencies continue to “operate in poorly configured buildings,” says the report, “they will continue to underuse space, spending unnecessary funds.”
These are two of the findings in a comprehensive report called Federal Real Property that looks at the tens of thousands of office buildings currently owned and operated by the federal government, and how their management could be more cost-effective.
The report particularly focuses on structures managed by the General Services Administration, noting that last month that agency identified 45 federal properties which should be sold. In so doing, notes that report, the federal government’s real property inventory would be reduced by 14.6 million square feet.
The shedding of the properties would save some $106 million in annual operations, along with “$3 billion in deferred maintenance costs.”
To date, the agency has this year managed to get rid of 90 properties representing 3 million square feet that were owned by the federal government,
In testimony before the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, Heather Krause noted that the Trump Administration has “expressed a desire for a smaller and more efficient federal workforce,” thus making the move to reduce government property a timely issue.
The GAO response has also included trying to match up the needs of any given federal agency with the office space it can most efficiently use.
The managing director for physical property with the GAO, Krause noted that the agency’s Space Match program, introduced earlier this year, is currently in the process of “helping agencies find available office space as employees return to work in-person, optimizing the use of underused space, and creating a collaborative work environment for agencies.”
Krause additionally noted that a greater effort needs to be undertaken to compile a comprehensive list of underused buildings, on top of the data that has already been collected.
“We are currently reviewing GSA’s real property disposal and sales processes,” said Krause, who continued: “We expect to issue reports on those topics in 2026.”
December 12, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of GAO Director of Physical Infrastructure
