U.S. office projections have been slightly upgraded for the next four quarters in a revised forecast from CoStar Group, although the long-term outlook still calls for less space per employee than pre-pandemic. The near-term U.S. office outlook now calls for 10 million square feet of positive absorption over the next four quarters. The previous forecast anticipated negative absorption of four million square feet.
“The revised forecast accounts for the strongest quarter of occupancy gains since 2019, despite stagnant job growth in traditional knowledge industries,” said Phil Mobley, national director of office analytics at CoStar Group. “Many occupiers, anticipating higher office attendance, have recently committed to additional space despite tepid hiring. This behavior is expected to boost absorption for several more quarters.”
Rent growth is also expected to reach 1% by late 2026 and 1.5% by mid-2027. The previous forecast said the metric would likely remain below 1% well into 2027.
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