CoStar Group reported that U.S. office leasing activity increased by 5% year-over-year in 2025, as tenants signed an estimated 410 million square feet of new office space. This marks a rebound from 2024, when leasing volume reached its lowest level in 15 years (excluding 2020). Notably, the year closed with three consecutive quarters exceeding 100 million square feet of leasing volume—a feat not seen since early 2022. With approximately 30,000 lease deals executed, the average deal size was 3,500 square feet, more than 15% smaller than the five-year pre-pandemic average. Boston led all markets with a 52% increase in leasing activity, restoring its annual volume to the pre-pandemic five-year average, while San Jose and San Francisco each recorded 40% growth driven largely by demand from artificial intelligence firms. Conversely, Seattle, Atlanta, Houston and Philadelphia saw declines in new office lease signings.

Apartments.com, a CoStar Group brand, released its multifamily rent growth report for December 2025 showing the national average rent rose to $1,708 in December—a 0.1% monthly increase from November’s revised $1,707. This uptick reverses five consecutive months of flat or negative monthly change. Annual rent growth eased slightly to 0.66% from 0.74% in November and down from 1.5% at the start of 2025. Regionally, the Midwest led with a 0.12% monthly gain and 2.2% annual growth; the South rose 0.07% month-over-month but declined 0.1% year-over-year; the Northeast increased 0.06% monthly and 1.5% annually; the West was the only region to post a monthly decline of 0.01% and an annual drop of 1.4%. At the metro level, 25 of the top 50 markets saw rent increases, led by San Francisco (+0.64%), Norfolk (+0.53%) and Richmond (+0.42%), while Portland, OR, recorded the steepest monthly decline at 0.29%.