Despite a first quarter of 2026 that saw negative absorption, the U.S. office market is beginning to stabilize, Cushman & Wakefield reported. The firm cited improving demand, flat vacancy and a sharp pullback in development underpinning a shift from broad-based decline to a more selective recovery.
Although overall office absorption was negative in Q1 2026 at -4.0 million square feet, underlying demand has strengthened over the past year, the firm reported. The four-quarter rolling absorption total reached +5.2 million square feet, the highest level since early 2020.
“The quarterly number doesn’t tell the full story,” said David C. Smith, head of Americas Insights at Cushman & Wakefield. “What matters is that demand has been improving consistently over the past year, and that momentum is now showing up across a broader set of markets.”
In total, 57 U.S. office markets recorded positive absorption over the past four quarters, up from 33 markets in full-year 2024. Meanwhile, vacancies declined over the past year in 46 of 92 tracked markets, with 22 markets recording declines of more than 100 basis points, led by San Francisco, Midtown Manhattan, Midtown South, Orange County and Austin.
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