U.S. office leasing in 2026 has so far exceeded pre-pandemic levels, according to preliminary first quarter data from CoStar.
Office tenants signed new leases for an estimated 120 million square feet during first quarter 2026 – the highest quarterly total since mid-2018. This represented a 25 percent increase year over year and the first time this decade that quarterly volume exceeded its average from 2015-2019.
“While the quarterly figure signifies continued momentum for national office recovery, the composition of leasing activity reflects an intensification of patterns that have emerged in the leasing office market since the pandemic began,” said Phil Mobley, national director of office analytics at CoStar Group. “First-quarter volume was driven by an exceptionally large number of transactions rather than a resurgence of large deals. In fact, the number of lease transactions executed during the quarter was the highest observed in a decade.”
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