Downtowns Claim Largest Share of Top 100 US Office Leases of 2025

Downtown buildings and high-quality office space accounted for most of the largest 100 US office leases signed in 2025, signaling occupiers’ preference for amenitized and well-designed space that helps bring employees together, according to a new report from CBRE.

CBRE’s analysis of the 100 largest office leases by square footage found that downtown buildings accounted for 54 of the Top 100, or 59% by square footage, in 2025. Among downtowns, which are generally categorized as central business districts, leases of 100,000 sq. ft. or more rose 19% by square footage of overall office leasing.

Prime office buildings, which CBRE defines as the best of the best buildings in a market, captured 18% of top deals by square footage despite comprising just 8% of total U.S. office inventory. Class A buildings, just one notch below prime buildings, captured 61% of the top 100 leases, highlighting a growing trend of demand spilling over to Class A space as available prime office space dwindles.

“Downtown office leasing is being driven in part by companies that consolidated over the last few years and have run out of room,” said Mike Watts, CBRE Americas President of Investor Leasing. “Downtown environments also offer neighborhood amenities and attractions that bring people together in ways that remote work and AI can’t fully replace. This makes downtown locations attractive for companies as they think about their long-term workplace strategies.”

Expansions Outpace Other Deals in Top 100 Leases

Expansions by large occupiers accounted for 55% of the 28.1 million sq. ft. total leased among the top 100. By number, expansions represented 50 of the top leases, up from 44 in 2024.

Relocations also increased, accounting for 31% of the square footage in 2025, up from 21% in 2024. A quarter of those relocations entailed companies moving into prime buildings, further reflecting the flight-to-quality trend.

A source of momentum for expansions and relocations: Companies have more confidence in their long-term space needs and are more comfortable signing new leases instead of renewing out of caution.

Financial Services Leads Office Leasing

Financial services reclaimed the top spot from the tech industry, accounting for 32 of the largest leases of 2025 – up from 15 in 2024 – and increasing its share of the largest office leases by square footage to 29% (up from 17% in 2024).

Tech followed with 27 of the largest leases and 28% of largest office leasing by square footage, down from 29 and 32%, respectively, in 2024. No other industry accounted for more than 10%.

Notably, expansions accounted for about two-thirds of the leasing activity by both financial services and tech firms.

Manhattan, Silicon Valley Increase Share of Top Leases

At the market level, Manhattan has the most Top 100 leases due in part to major tenants securing space earlier than usual as high-quality, large-footprint options dry up. Silicon Valley rose to No. 2, and Tampa joined the Top 10 for the first time since CBRE started tracking the largest office leases in 2021.

Manhattan and Silicon Valley were the only markets to materially increase their share of space leased, each gaining three percentage points.

“The strong performance of Manhattan and Silicon Valley reflects the industry mix driving demand,” said Stefan Weiss, CBRE Head of U.S. Office Research. “Growth in the financial sector boosted office leasing in Manhattan by more than 1 million square feet last year. While tech firms looking for more space helped to accelerate office leasing in the Bay Area.”

Top 10 Cities by Share of Largest 100 Office Leases of 2025

Market	Lease Count
Manhattan	28
Silicon Valley	8
Dallas/Fort Worth	7
Washington D.C.	6
Chicago	6
Boston	5
New Jersey	4
San Francisco	4
Houston	3
Tampa	2