📉 U.S. office vacancy eases as investors stay picky

U.S. office recovery is improving, but the gains remain concentrated in top-quality space. CBRE’s Q2 2026 figures show office vacancy falling, with leasing momentum improving, underscoring a market that is healing unevenly rather than broadly.

CBRE said demand remains concentrated in trophy assets and prime locations, while weaker buildings continue to lag. Separate sector updates in CBRE’s quarterly figures also showed U.S. industrial vacancy dropping to 6.5% and retail rents rising 2.4% year over year, reinforcing the view that capital is still favoring assets with clearer fundamentals.

The data

CBRE’s U.S. office report for Q2 2026 points to better leasing momentum and a modest decline in vacancy. The firm described the market as increasingly bifurcated, with top-quality space outperforming older or less well-located stock.

• U.S. office vacancy fell in Q2 2026 to 18.3%
• U.S. industrial vacancy declined to 6.5%
• U.S. retail rents rose 2.4% year over year

What it means for investors

The data suggests that recovery in U.S. commercial property is now highly selective. Office leasing is improving, but the benefit is flowing disproportionately to premium assets, which supports pricing in the strongest submarkets while leaving commodity space under pressure.

The market is healing, but the gap between trophy and non-trophy assets is widening.

The comparison with industrial and retail also matters. Industrial remains relatively tight despite slower construction, while retail is still benefiting from limited supply and steady absorption. That leaves office as the most uneven segment, where underwriting depends increasingly on quality, location and tenant depth rather than sector-level recovery alone.

Bottom line

The latest figures signal a U.S. commercial market in which capital continues to concentrate in higher-quality assets, and office recovery is likely to remain uneven across markets and property types.