Class A Office Availability Drops Sharply Across Top Tech Hubs
Availability in Class A office space in the nation's 10 biggest tech hubs has dived in recent months. In fact, it is falling in these metros at the fastest pace in more than 20 years, according to a new analysis from Cushman & Wakefield.
Toward the end of 2025, almost 90 million square feet of Class A space was available in the top hubs. This year it plunged to just under 80 million square feet – an 11% drop.
Class A office availability remains at nearly twice what it was before the pandemic. But the analysis says that shouldn't detract from the speed of the fall.
In Santa Clara, CA – home to AI corporate giants and the hyperscaler Google – availability plunged 23%. "If class A office availability in Santa Clara County continues to fall at its current pace, in less than 2.5 years, it will be half of pre-pandemic levels," the report stated.
In nearby San Francisco, availability dived 10%.
There was a similar phenomenon – perhaps less expected -- in Northern Virginia, where availability declined almost 15%, especially in Fairfax (15%) and Arlington (8%). The Washington, DC, metro area, in which it is part, hosts more workers in computer and mathematical occupations (234,000) than any other region outside the Bay Area and New York City, the report said.
Pressure on office space in the area has been accentuated by investors who have bought "several hundred thousand square feet" of office properties with higher vacancy for conversion to residential use.
Class A availability has also fallen sharply in the New York City metro area, which leads the nation in total workers in computer and mathematical occupations (more than 327,000) and some of its biggest investment firms are financing AI infrastructure.
In Manhattan's Midtown South, the plunge in availability mirrors that in Santa Clara (23%) and in Midtown itself, it fell some 12%.
"It's becoming clear that in an increasing number of tech-driven markets, class A office properties aren't just surviving the AI boom, they are emerging as some of the leading beneficiaries," the report stated.
Source: GlobeSt/ALM