DFW’s office vacancy has improved, but it’s a mixed bag with newer assets

Vacancy averages 26.0% for the market overall. This reflects an improvement of 2.8 percentage points since the market’s 2023 peak. Most existing and stabilized properties fall relatively close to this average. Buildings built prior to 1990 are very close to the average and have seen very little movement between the end of 2023 and Q1 2025. While vacancy is elevated, their stable performance is due to being “commodity” buildings that are in demand by tenants seeking affordable rents.

Properties between 1990 and 1999 currently have vacancy 5 percentage points above the average, which reflects an increase since year-end 2023. These assets are likely showing signs of age, with tenants vacating space for newer or more affordable options.

For those built between 2000 and 2010, vacancy mirrors the regional average. Vacancy ticked up 3.4 percentage points since 2023. So, these properties are likely feeling some performance stress, despite falling in line with “average” vacancy.

For the newest assets, the picture is mixed. Vacancy is extremely low in the 25 msf of space delivered between 2011 and 2019, coming in at sub-9%, with 2018 assets at 4.1%. In comparison, while 2019 properties have a relatively low vacancy rate, they did see an increase from 8.4% to 19.0% in the last year, due to leases in the now 6-year-old building beginning to roll and tenants continuing to seek newer options that better meet their current space needs.