Absorption rates show the net change in office space occupancy in the central business districts of major US cities, and for the first time in three years, the trends were positive, totalling 2.2 million square feet.
Commercial property firm Cushman and Wakefield attributes its positive absorption figures to a combination of increased office space leasing activity and a relative lack of newly constructed buildings that have reached completion in the past 12 months.
Roughly 7.5 million square feet of office space was reportedly made available in America’s various CBDs over the course of last year, while new leasing deals were agreed on around 62.4 million square feet in these same areas.
Analysts at C&W do not expect many new office buildings to be completed in major US cities in 2011, but overall vacancy levels are predicted to continue falling as leasing activity picks up.
“Positive absorption is a promising sign for the US office market’s recovery,” commented Maria Sicola, executive managing director and head of Americas research for C&W.
“Looking forward to this year, restricted new development will play a major role in sustaining our recovery,” she went on to suggest.
A total of 31 CBDs are monitored and assessed as part of C&W’s overall US office market analysis, with the company reporting only slight changes in the average price of office space across America during 2010.
Earlier this month, the same firm revealed figures showing that Manhattan’s most recent quarter was its strongest for several years in terms of new office space leasing activity.
Editor’s notes: At the end of 2022, the U.S. national office vacancy rate was 16.5 per cent, which reflected a 0.9 per cent increase year on year.
This meant that approximately 83.5 per cent of office space was leased or pre-leased. It should be noted that the actual occupancy of leased offices was significantly lower than this, as mass layoffs continued and those who remained employed were slow to return to the office.
A total of 135 million square feet of office space was under construction at the end of 2022, with another 261 million square feet in the planning stages.
It was expected that higher interest rates would slow the pace at which some of these projects broke ground.
At the end of 2022, the average U.S. office listing rental rate was $38.19 per square foot per year, down 0.7 per cent compared to the previous year.
The most expensive office space was in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, where net effective rents were $220 per square foot.
Flexible workspace options such as private offices, managed executive suites, and coworking desks continued to grow in popularity.
You can view profiles of flexi office providers in Manhattan here.
Research conducted in June 2026 found that the US nationwide office vacancy rate was 18.6 per cent in Q1 2026.
Total net absorption of space was 6.9 million square feet, the highest first-quarter absorption since 2020 and the eighth consecutive quarter of positive demand. The cumulative absorption for Q1 2026, combined with the previous three quarters, was 27.8 million square feet.
Q1 leasing activity across America totalled 56.2 million square feet, up 0.2 per cent year on year. CBRE forecast in April that annual leasing activity in 2026 would surpass 2019 levels.
Whilst the overall office vacancy rate fell by 10 basis points (bps) to 18.6 per cent, the prime vacancy rate fell by 80 bps to 12.7 per cent, reflecting the nationwide and worldwide flight to quality by occupiers seeking best-in-class, sustainable office space with excellent occupier amenity levels.
Midtown New York offered the most expensive office space in the US at $200.30 per square foot at the end of 2025, and was the third most expensive in the world, after the West End of London and Hong Kong.
It was also noted that Midtown Manhattan’s prime vacancy rate fell to just 2.9 per cent.