An exclusive look at CBRE anlaysis of the top 100 office leases signed in 2019 reveals that the tech industry was the most active sector inking deals.
According to the firm, tech companies accounted for more than 32.4 percent, by square footage, of the 100 largest leases, which topped the sector's 22 percent share of overall office leasing in 2018.
Other industries signing big leases included financial services and insurance (13.5 percent) and government and nonprofits (11.2 percent).
“The tech industry’s outsized share of the largest U.S. office leases underscores the preference of big tech companies for corporate campuses and multiple-floor assignments in office buildings,” Ian Anderson, CBRE’s Americas head of office research said in a statement. “We expect this to continue in 2020, since tech companies represent nearly 40 percent of the 100 largest office-lease requirements currently in the market looking for space.”
Other industries that, like tech, have a greater share of the top 100 leases by square footage than of overall office leasing are energy (7.2 percent of the top 100), government and nonprofits (11.2 percent) and manufacturing and transportation (7.7 percent). Overall, the largest 100 office leases span more than 32 million sq. ft.
On a market basis, Manhattan led all with 23 huge leases totaling 11 million sq. ft. Manhattan’s stable of large office leases from 2019 was divided among eight industries, whereas some markets owe their large leases to a single industry, such as tech in Seattle and energy in Houston.
The following gallery includes some additional analysis of the leasing activity in the 10 markets where the leasing activtiy occurred.
