Though the pandemic led to reductions in office leasing by financial services firms in gateway markets, a recent report by JLL found a notable leasing resurgence by those firms.
Since 2022, gateway markets—Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.—accounted for nearly 44% of the total space leased by financial services firms. This improvement has resulted in a rebound to pre-pandemic norms. At the pandemic’s peak in 2020 and 2021, the share of financial services leasing in gateway markets fell from 42% in 2019 to 34%.
The occupancy rebound is good news for major financial services hubs that had been experiencing occupancy reductions in offices within urban cores. The improvement appears to have staying power. Financial services companies are prioritizing talent cultivation and innovation, and continue to prize centralized locations in key financial services hubs to maintain a robust talent pipeline and achieve long-term business goals, JLL says.
Demand in growth markets—Atlanta, Austin, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Miami, Nashville, Phoenix, Raleigh, and San Diego—remains resilient and accounts for a fifth of overall financial leasing. But near-term growth in those cities is expected to be at a slower pace than the post-pandemic response, as firms maintain expense discipline.
Related Stories
Mixed-Use | May 5, 2015
Miami ‘innovation district’ will have 6.5 million sf of dense, walkable space
Designing a neighborhood from the ground-up, developers aim to create a dense, walkable district that fulfills what is lacking from Miami’s current auto-dependent layout.
Codes and Standards | May 1, 2015
New energy efficiency program, Tenant Star, gets OK from Congress
The voluntary program for commercial and government buildings is modeled after Energy Star.
High-rise Construction | Apr 30, 2015
World Trade Center developer looks to Bjarke Ingels for new tower design
Norman Foster’s design for 2 World Trade Center may be ousted, as developers are currently negotiating with Danish firm BIG to redesign the original scheme.
Office Buildings | Apr 30, 2015
U.S. office construction is approaching historic levels again
An estimated 108 million sf of office space were under construction in the U.S. at the end of the first quarter, a 17% gain over the same period a year ago, according to CoStar.
Wood | Apr 26, 2015
Building wood towers: How high is up for timber structures?
The recent push for larger and taller wood structures may seem like an architectural fad. But Building Teams around the world are starting to use more large-scale structural wood systems.
Green | Apr 22, 2015
GSA's Federal Center South Building honored with AIA Top Ten Plus Award for 'verified' sustainable performance
The annual award recognizes green building projects that have quantifiable metrics demonstrating the performance and positive impact of the sustainable design.
Office Buildings | Apr 21, 2015
Stop the endless debate over open vs. closed work environments
Rather than be confused by the constant stream of opinions, leadership teams contemplating workplace investments should start with powerful employee engagement strategies that drive results.
Office Buildings | Apr 21, 2015
How to create an 'emotionally intelligent' workplace
Emotional intelligence is the leading predictor of performance in the workplace and the strongest driver of leadership and personal excellence.
Office Buildings | Apr 8, 2015
Facebook plans to build two more Frank Gehry-designed offices
In addition to office space, Facebook’s development involves a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists.
Mixed-Use | Apr 7, 2015
$100 billion 'city from scratch' taking shape in Saudi Arabia
The new King Abdullah Economic City was conceived to diversify the kingdom's oil-dependent economy by focusing more in its shipping industry.
