Suburban Maryland Office Figures Q1 2026

Market fundamentals in Suburban Maryland have shifted over the last several years as vacancy increased from 15.7% in Q4 2019 to 21.5% in Q1 2026. Continued impacts from the global pandemic and its effects on the economy, as well as more localized headwinds, have put a strain on the market. However, demand landed at 72,000 sq. ft. of occupancy gain in Q1 2026, marking three consecutive quarters of positive absorption. While few tenants contributed large amounts of growth during the quarter, more notably, tenants did not consolidate space or leave the market altogether at the same velocity as in past quarters. This mark was an improvement by more than 279,000 sq. ft. year‑over‑year from the negative 207,000 sq. ft. recorded in Q1 2025, as well as an improvement quarter-over-quarter by more than 57,000 sq. ft. in Q4 2025. Notably, the largest lease of the quarter belonged to the University of Maryland’s ARLIS (Applied Research Laboratory for Intelligence and Security), as they pre-leased a build-to-suit office to be located at 4600 River Road in the College Park submarket.

Vacancy edged down 0.4 percentage points from 21.9% in Q4 2025 and stood 0.3 percentage points below the 21.8% level a year earlier. Pricing ticked up slightly (0.4%) to $30.40 per sq. ft. on a full-service basis, after three consecutive quarters of slight decline.