As of October, the national office vacancy rate stood at 18.6 percent, unchanged from the previous month, while office-using patterns across key markets shifted unevenly.
Read the latest Yardi Matrix Office Market Outlook.
Report Highlights
- The national office vacancy rate clocked in at 18.6 percent as of October—90 basis points lower over the past 12 months.
- The full-service equivalent listing rate stood at $32.81 per square foot, two cents higher than the previous month.
- The national under construction pipeline consisted of 33.4 million square feet as of October, representing 0.5 percent of existing stock.
- As of October, the office transaction volume reached $42.6 billion, with properties selling at an average sale price of $191 per square foot.
Elevated vacancies continue
Year-to-date through October, the national office vacancy rate stood at 18.6 percent—down 90 basis points year-over-year and unchanged from the previous month. As most U.S. companies still favor remote work, even with the rate declining every year since its peak in 2021, a full return to the office appears unlikely. Work patterns vary across the top 25 U.S. markets. For context, Austin, Texas, had 23.2 percent of its employees working from home last year, while Manhattan had only 11.8 percent. Even if both markets recorded a similar share of office-using jobs, Austin supports remote work options more easily due to its tech-oriented work landscape.
Office markets with elevated vacancies include Seattle (27.4 percent), Austin (26.9 percent) and San Francisco (26.1 percent). In contrast, the lowest vacancies across the top 25 U.S. markets were recorded in Manhattan (13 percent) and Miami (13.4 percent).
The national average full-service equivalent listing rate stood at $32.81 per square foot in October—two cents higher than the previous month and up 0.1 percent year-over-year. Manhattan kept the top spot in average rents, at $67.97 per square foot, with San Francisco ($65.30 per square foot) and Miami ($56.34 per square foot) following. In terms of rent growth, the metro with the highest increase was Los Angeles, posting a 10.4 percent growth year-over-year.
Construction pulls back, investment patterns change
There were 33.4 million square feet under construction in the nation as of October—accounting for 0.5 percent of existing stock and 1.7 percent when adding projects in the planning stages to the figure. As of October, Boston was still the national leader for development activity, with approximately 4.7 million square feet underway, while Manhattan followed, with 3 million square feet.
The office transaction total in the country reached $42.6 billion as of October, with office assets selling at a $191 per square foot average. Manhattan led in both sales volume and prices, with $6.4 billion in deals and a $523 per square foot average sale price. The runner-up remained the Bay Area, with $4.4 billion in sales and a $386 per square foot average sale price.
Read the full Yardi Matrix Office Market Report: November 2025.
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