The CBRE Pulse of U.S. Office Demand report shows that demand improved significantly during September as occupiers leased more space, signed long-term leases, and pivoted away from short-term renewals.
CBRE used its own data to measure office market activity across the 12 largest U.S. office regions, including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C.
According to the findings, the U.S. Tenants in the Market (TIM) Index fell by 1 point during September, with Boston and San Francisco seeing the highest TIM Index above their pre-pandemic levels.
The U.S. Leasing Activity Index grew by 17 points to 93, largely driven by a spike in leases in Boston, which also led to recovery for the month thanks to two large leases including Wellington Management’s 524,000 square foot renewal and expansion, as well as Moderna’s new 462,000 square foot lease.
Even markets that were hardest hit by the pandemic such as Denver, Manhattan, and San Francisco saw considerable growth in demand. However, despite seeing earlier signs of recovery, Los Angeles experienced waning demand due to the resurgence of Covid-19 cases in September.
Among the markets that saw their TIM Index levels increase were Boston, Dallas/Fort Worth, and Atlanta. However, the TIM Index fell in Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Washington D.C.
Leasing and subleasing continues to improve, indicating that recovery for all of these markets has continued trending upwards for the rest of 2021 and into the new year.