Urban office isn't dead—at least not if you look at leasing data. KBS reports that its strongest leasing activity has been in urban markets, including San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Chicago and Washington DC.

"Despite predictions that urban office is suffering in the wake of the pandemic, some of the strongest leasing activity among KBS' properties is occurring in cities. This activity demonstrates that companies continue to have an appetite for ideally located, well-amenitized office space in urban markets across the country," Chuck Schreiber, CEO and co-founder of KBS, tells GlobeSt.com

Tech markets in particular are outperforming other office markets. According to data from JLL, tech companies leased 3.4 million square feet of office space in the second quarter; however, finance and insurance industries only leased 2.3 million square feet of office space. In addition, CBRE research shows "that tech companies were some of the most resilient throughout COVID-19 and are now preparing for high-paced growth, particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Washington D.C., Los Angeles/Orange County, Detroit and Calgary," according to Schreiber.