A Breakdown of the Top 100 Leases in 2021

US office leasing increased by 27% in 2021, with technology companies driving demand for the largest requirements. 

Occupiers overall continue to evaluate the most efficient ways to utilize office space. The recent growth in office-using employment and the slowdown of the COVID omicron variant should embolden more occupiers to make long-term decisions. The increased leasing activity in the second half of 2021 is expected to continue in 2022.

Technology companies accounted for 36 of the top 100 leases, double their share in 2020, for 11.4 million sq. ft. or 37% of the top 100 total. 

On a square footage basis, 87% of the technology company total was in new leases or expansions, reflecting the sector’s uninterrupted growth during the pandemic. The aerospace/defense and life sciences sectors also had relatively high numbers of new leases.

D.C. Active in Top Leases

The government/public administration sector accounted for 16 of the top 100 leases, totaling 5.1 million sq. ft. Most of those commitments (70%) were renewals and were primarily in Washington, D.C.

The average size of the top 100 leases rose by 7% year-over-year to 307,000 sq. ft. Nine of the 13 industry sectors tracked by CBRE Research recorded increases in the average size of their largest leases.

The creative, aerospace/defense and telecommunications sectors posted the largest increases. The energy sector had the largest decrease (-50%), followed by retail (-27%) and technology (-16%).

Manhattan, D.C., Boston Tops in Leasing Volume

Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and Boston were the top three markets for total top 100 leasing volume (35%), including renewals, primarily driven by the finance/insurance, government/public administration and technology sectors, respectively. 

Of the total top 100 in these three markets, 49% was in new leases. Boston, Silicon Valley and Manhattan were the top three markets for new leasing activity among the top 100 

Square Footage Up in Top 100 Leases

While the 100 largest leases’ share of total U.S. office leasing dropped to 15.5% last year from 19% in 2020, their total square footage increased by 6.8% to 31 million.

New leases accounted for 61% of the top 100, up from 57% in 2020, as companies became more comfortable with making long-term occupancy decisions.