As of December 2025, the national office vacancy rate stood at 18.4 percent, representing a 140-basis-point drop over the past 12 months.
Read the latest Yardi Matrix Office Market Outlook.
Report Highlights
- The national office vacancy rate clocked in at 18.4 percent at the end of December 2025—140 basis points lower over the past 12 months.
- The national full-service equivalent listing rate was $32.86 per square foot—9 cents higher than the previous month.
- The U.S. office pipeline consisted of 30.9 million square feet of space, representing 0.4 percent of existing stock.
- Office investment activity reached $53 billion at the end of December 2025, with properties selling at $192 per square foot.
Vacancies decline
As of December 2025, the country’s office vacancy rate fell again, at 18.4 percent—representing a 10-basis-point drop from the previous month and a 140-basis-point decline year-over-year. The vacancies began to drop in recent months, from the peak in March 2025 to the 18.4 percent December rate, with 17 of the top 25 U.S. markets recording a decrease throughout 2025.
The metros with notable improvements include Houston (-430 basis points), San Francisco (-370 basis points), the Bay Area (-320 basis points), and Manhattan (-300 basis points). Meanwhile, Orlando and San Diego still posted year-over-year increases, with 310 basis points and 270 basis points jumps, respectively.
Austin and Seattle remained the markets with the highest vacancies in the country, at 27.3 percent and 27.2 percent, respectively. On the opposite end is Manhattan with 13.6 percent—the lowest rate nationwide.
The national average full-service equivalent listing rate stood at $32.86 per square foot in December 2025—9 cents higher from the previous month and 0.8 percent lower year-over-year. Manhattan continued to be the top market for average rents, at $68.15 per square foot, followed by San Francisco’s $63.15 per square foot. The lowest average rate in the U.S. was recorded in Detroit, at $21.46 per square foot.
Deliveries slow down, prices soften
The U.S. office pipeline comprised 30.9 million square feet as of December 2025—accounting for 0.4 percent of existing stock and marking a 44 percent drop from January 2024. For context, the pipeline comprised 54.7 million square feet at that time.
In December, office deliveries included only 42.4 million square feet—representing the second consecutive year of declining new inventory and another historic low in the decade.
Boston remained the metro with the largest pipeline, with 4.4 million square feet underway. Manhattan followed with 2.3 million square feet. In contrast, the smallest pipeline was in Twin Cities, where only 230,121 square feet were under construction.
With the shift to hybrid work continuing to soften office demand, tenants favor smaller, amenity-rich space compared to large, traditional office leases. On par with this, the coworking sector also expanded, as operators added over 1,000 new locations and pushed the flex space’s share of total office inventory to 2.2 percent.
The national office investment volume hit $53 billion at the end of December 2025, with properties changing ownership for $192 per square foot. Manhattan led the nation in sales, with $7.8 billion in deals, while the Bay Area followed, with $4.8 billion.
Office pricing finally signals stabilization. The top market for sale prices was Manhattan, where properties sold at $498 per square foot. The Bay Area followed, with $393 per square foot, while Miami prices stood at $360 per square foot. Meanwhile, Chicago remained the most affordable market, with the average sale price set at $65 per square foot.
Read the full Yardi Matrix Office Market Report: January 2026.
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