New York City surpassed pre-pandemic office demand levels during the fourth quarter, reaching 25.3% year-over-year growth and leading the country in what appears to be an ongoing recovery within the sector. The city’s office momentum is being driven by robust demand from the tech and finance sectors, according to the quarterly VTS Office Demand Index (VODI), which tracks new tenant tour requirements of office properties in core US markets.

Several other markets showed encouraging signs of recovery, including San Francisco, Chicago and Seattle, VTS said. San Francisco had the highest annual growth rate among all VODI markets at 32.4%, driven by a resurgence in activity among tech tenants re-entering the office space market after years of remote work. Chicago and Seattle are growing at a slower but steady rate, with annual growth rates of 15.6% and 14.7% respectively. Employees in these cities are increasingly embracing hybrid work models that include a more consistent in-office presence.

“These markets demonstrate that this is not a uniform rebound — it’s a nuanced evolution shaped by local market dynamics,” said Nick Romito, CEO of VTS.