At the close of 2020, available office sublease space reached 154.0 million square feet nationally — representing 3.1 percent of total office inventory and 15.7 percent of all availabilities, according to Newmark. Over the past year, available office sublease space expanded by 53 percent across the 56 markets tracked by Newmark.
Many tech-centered, gateway markets experienced above-average growth in sublease availability during 2020, with sublease listings accounting for a greater share of vacated spaces in large urban centers.
While preliminary first-quarter data suggest ongoing weakness in the national office market as corporate users continue to re-examine their real estate footprints, pockets of strength are emerging. More sublet spaces were returned to the market in Manhattan, Chicago, Los Angeles and Atlanta in the early months of 2021. Importantly, though, the growth of sublet space availability in Boston, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., has plateaued in r
