Office conversions: Gauging their role in U.S. market recovery
- While office conversions are a popular topic across most major markets, they usually account for less than 3% of total market inventory, including both proposals and active construction.
- Manhattan carries the most office conversion candidates by total square footage at 17.2 million square feet (msf), but this only accounts for less than 4% of the total market size.
- While a dramatically smaller market than Manhattan, the Northern Virginia market has a close 14.2 msf of candidates, representing almost 9% of the entire market — the highest concentration nationwide.
- For the office sector, market recovery hinges on a blend of upgrading existing buildings, increasing foot traffic, and repurposing the truly obsolete.
November 19, 2025
