HOUSTON—Office occupancy stands at an all-time high across the country in downtown markets, including in Houston where absorption has not been this strong since 1997, according to a report from CBRE Research.

The city saw 5.5 million square feet of positive net absorption last year, ranking just behind Manhattan (7.3 million square feet) and ahead of San Jose, Calif. (3.9 million square feet).

"As a result of strong leasing activity and an overall healthy market in recent years, Houston closed 2014 with 5.5 million square feet of positive absorption,” Angie Hamilton, CBRE research analyst, told GlobeSt.com. "The market has not seen absorption this strong since 1997 when it absorbed 7 million square feet. Interestingly, the market has only seen absorption over 5 million square feet once since then, and that was in 2006.”