Marcus & Millichap has published its Q4 2026 Denver Metro Area Office report, highlighting declining vacancy and stronger leasing demand.
“Denver’s office market is showing early signs of stabilization, with stronger leasing activity in larger spaces and growing demand for higher-quality properties helping reduce vacancy, while limited speculative construction is easing supply pressure,” said Adam Lewis, senior managing director, market leader.
Key findings include:
- Vacancy declined 30 basis points year over year to 22.3% in June. Class A buildings recorded nearly 1 million square feet of positive net absorption and a 90-basis-point vacancy decline, although Class A vacancy remained near 30%.
- Roughly 970,000 square feet of office space is expected to be completed in 2026, following the metro’s lowest annual delivery total since at least 2007. As of early September, only one remaining project totaling 25,000 square feet was speculative, limiting competitive pressure on existing properties.
- Denver’s office-using sector lost nearly 5,000 jobs in 2025 and approximately 6,400 more during the first eight months of 2026. Gains in health care, government and retail trade are expected to support modest overall employment growth through year-end.
- Office transaction activity accelerated more than 35% during the year ended in June. Between 2023 and 2025, the average price per square foot declined nearly 20%, while the average cap rate rose to 7.6% in June 2026, its highest level since 2012.
- The 2026 forecast calls for vacancy to decline 20 basis points to 22.2% and average asking rent to increase 1.5% to $24.35 per square foot by year-end. The metro is projected to add 4,000 jobs.
“Demand is improving in select corridors and larger blocks, but elevated vacancy, continued office-sector job losses and weaker conditions among aging properties indicate that the recovery remains uneven,” added Lewis.
Access the report here.
