As of March 2026, the national office vacancy rate reached 17.8 percent.
Read the latest Yardi Matrix Office Market Outlook.
Report Highlights
- The national office vacancy rate reached 17.8 percent as of March—210 basis points lower over the past 12 months.
- The national full-service equivalent listing rate stood at $32.80 per square foot in March—down 1.8 percent year-over-year.
- The U.S. office pipeline totaled 29 million square feet, representing 0.4 percent of total stock.
- Office investment volume at the end of the first quarter of 2026 generated $12.8 billion, with properties selling for $220 per square foot on average.
Vacancy improves among most markets
As of March, the national office vacancy rate reached 17.8 percent—210 basis points lower from a year ago. Vacancy recovery is scattered among major markets. Austin remained the metro with the highest rate nationwide, at 26.3 percent despite a 230-basis-point decline from its peak in 2025. This high value is tied to the metro’s excess new supply. As such, Austin’s office pipeline began to contract in recent months, relieving some of the stress from oversupply.
On the opposite end of the list was Miami’s 12.5 percent, the lowest vacancy rate nationwide. Manhattan followed with 13.1 percent. As for vacancy recovery, San Francisco led the charts with a 540-basis-point decline from a year ago.
The national average full-service equivalent listing rate was $32.80 per square foot in March—up one cent from a month ago but down 1.8 percent year-over-year. Manhattan led the charts once again for office rents, with listing reaching $69.80 per square foot, followed by San Francisco’s $62.73 per square foot.
U.S. office pipeline contracts
The U.S. office pipeline totaled 29 million square feet, representing 0.4 percent of total stock. Office completions as of March totaled 4.3 million square feet.
Boston remained the top metro for development, with nearly 4 million square feet underway. Other metros that followed included Manhattan, with 2.9 million square feet, and Dallas, with 2.3 million square feet.
Construction activity remains low. In 2025, construction starts totaled 21.6 million square feet. General office starts accounted for 47.6 percent of that volume, while medical office represented 25.8 percent of it and life science 10.9 percent.
Construction starts for general offices have been on a downward trajectory over the past decade, with volumes down 75.9 percent. As remote work became the norm, coupled with slower job growth, demand for general office is likely to weaken more. In contrast, medical office development is supported by steady job growth in healthcare sectors and a higher resistance to hybrid work influence. Over the past decade, construction starts for medical office fell only 17.3 percent.
The U.S. office investment volume reached $12.8 billion as of March, with assets selling at an average of $220 per square foot. Manhattan topped the charts with $1.8 billion in deals, with properties trading at $707 per square foot. However, San Francisco’s office prices were higher—properties sold at $868 per square foot in March, while the metro had $754 in total dollar volume.
Read the full Yardi Matrix Office Market Report: April 2026.
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