North America's Office Market Index: Where Tenants Have the Edge in 2026

The North American office market is stabilizing, but recovery is far from uniform. Local industry composition, office demand, available supply and development activity are increasingly determining whether market conditions favor tenants or landlords.

Cresa’s Office Index examines the 100 largest North American office markets by institutional-quality office inventory, providing occupiers with a market-by-market view of where negotiating leverage exists today.

Using 11 metrics across four categories—leasing momentum, market rent, office occupancy and construction—the Index compares markets of similar size and evaluates the factors that have the greatest influence on tenant negotiating power.

Explore the Office Index Data

Want to take a closer look at the numbers behind the rankings? The Cresa Office Index Appendix provides detailed market-level rankings across the 11 metrics used in the Index, including leasing momentum, market rent, occupancy and construction.

View the Office Index Appendix

Office Market Recovery Is Becoming More Local

The latest Index shows that geography alone is no longer a reliable indicator of office market performance.

Markets with diversified industries, resilient demand and a healthier balance between supply and occupancy are generally strengthening, while markets with elevated commercial real estate vacancy, excess availability or slower leasing activity continue to offer occupiers greater leverage.

As conditions continue to normalize, occupiers are also navigating shifts in space utilization, quality and leasing strategy. [Explore five office market trends shaping the next phase of the recovery.]

Even within similar regions or market sizes, conditions can vary considerably. Industry mix, return-to-office behavior, existing inventory and the construction pipeline are increasingly shaping local performance.

What You’ll Find in the 2026 Cresa Office Index

The full report provides:

• Rankings of the top 100 North American office markets based on tenant and landlord favorability
• Separate analysis of large, medium and small office markets
• Comparisons of leasing momentum, market rent, office occupancy and construction activity
• Market-level insights into where occupiers may have greater negotiating leverage
• Analysis of how vacancy, availability, industry mix and new supply are influencing office conditions
• Key takeaways to help occupiers evaluate when and where to act

The Index assigns each market a score from 1 to 100, with higher scores representing more tenant-favorable conditions and lower scores indicating greater landlord leverage. Markets are compared against other markets of similar size to provide a more useful picture of relative conditions.

What This Means for Office Occupiers

Improving leasing activity does not necessarily mean tenant leverage has disappeared.

In larger markets with substantial availability, occupiers may still have opportunities to secure attractive economics and high-quality space before conditions tighten. In medium-sized markets, strong population or employment growth should be considered alongside existing availability and future supply. And in smaller markets, even one major lease, development or removal of inventory can quickly shift negotiating conditions.

Looking ahead, new office construction is expected to remain limited, making existing demand, available space and the repositioning or removal of obsolete inventory increasingly important. Markets with constrained supply and resilient demand may continue to tighten, while markets with higher vacancy could remain favorable to tenants for an extended period.

Download the full Office Index to learn more.