National + Office | November 23, 2021

Office Demand Ticks Up as Signed Leases Tick Down in Major U.S. Markets

Many top U.S. office markets showed improved demand for new office leasing during October, CBRE reported Tuesday. However, the other two leading indicators tracked by CBRE’s monthly report—completed leasing transactions and sublease availability—weakened slightly last month, temporarily halting their positive momentum from previous months.

Boston continued to set the recovery’s pace in October, while office demand gained strength in the Atlanta market. Houston, Manhattan, Washington, DC, Denver and Seattle also showed improved market demand from September levels.

“The growth of tenants actively looking for space is a precursor of increased leasing to come,” said Nicole LaRusso, CBRE senior director of research & analysis. “Recent strong job growth should add further momentum to the office market, particularly as consumer and business confidence increases. Barring another Covid resurgence, the office market appears to be on firm footing heading into 2022.”

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CBRE's LaRusso

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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