Analysis of Largest 100 US Office Leases of 2023 Finds The San Francisco Bay Area Had the Most Tech Leases

The San Francisco Bay Area had the second-greatest share of leases in CBRE’s report of Largest 100 U.S. Office Leases in 2023, all of which were in Class A and Class A+ buildings. Technology companies had the highest share of large leases in the region, of which 55% were new leases.

Silicon Valley had eight leases in the top 100, totaling 2,654,593 sq. ft. Technology companies made up 91% of Silicon Valley’s top leases (2.4 million sq. ft.). The majority (57%) of Silicon Valley’s top leases were renewals, while 43% were new leases. In 2022, Silicon Valley had six transactions in the top 100. Only Manhattan logged more top 100 leases last year than Silicon Valley.

San Francisco, including both San Francisco and San Mateo Counties, had five transactions in the top 100, totaling 1,303,898 sq. ft. Four of the five transactions were new leases. Technology firms were responsible for 88% of the top leases in San Francisco (1.15 million sq. ft.). The only non-tech deal was in the government sector. In 2022, San Francisco had three leases in the top 100.

“Companies are increasingly choosing the best-quality office space to create an attractive work environment that enhances the employee experience. Many established companies in the Bay Area chose to stay put in their current space, while many emerging companies signed large leases with the expectation of future growth,” said Colin Yasukochi, executive director of CBRE’s Tech Insights Center.

Nationally, three quarters of the cumulative square footage of the largest 100 leases came in higher quality, Class A and Class A+ buildings. The prevalence of top 100 leases in Class A and Class A+ buildings underscores an ongoing flight to quality in which companies prefer higher quality space in better locations in part to provide additional motivation for employees to work from the office more often.

Markets with Largest of the Large Office Leases of 2023

To read the full report, click here.