Phoenix ranked 8th nationally for office investment activity since 2020, with 477 transactions. The market peaked in 2021, when 141 office sales closed, according to CommercialSearch’s newest report.

Key Takeaways

  • Since the start of the decade, 2021 and 2022 were the best years for office sales in most of the markets we compared for this ranking. 
  • Manhattan, N.Y., remained the priciest office market since 2020, claiming the highest average sale price per square foot throughout five years. 
  • Boston racked up the largest total dollar sales volume for office assets traded during that same time. 
  • Dallas-Fort Worth had the highest number of office sales close during the five years we analyzed, as well as the largest amount of total office space traded during that same period.

Since 2020, the U.S. office market has been finding its footing through direct and indirect challenges, such as supply chain disruptions; rising construction costs; widespread adoption of hybrid work models; aging and non-competitive stock; shifting preferences in office design and location; and a rise in the appeal of office property conversions.

Although there has been some fluctuation in sales activity through all of that, office assets in the U.S. have remained attractive to investors. For this report, we looked at Yardi Research data for office sales recorded during the first five years of the decade and compared markets based on total sales, price per square foot, sales activity, and the amount of square footage that changed hands in each. Below, we detail our findings of which U.S. markets were the top destinations for investment since 2020.

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Top Markets by Total Office Sales Since 2020: Boston, Manhattan & Bay Area Bank Highest Sales Totals

For most of our top 10 markets, 2021 was the best year in terms of sales. That said, in Washington, D.C.; Dallas-Fort Worth; and Atlanta, it was 2022 that stood out for the largest yearly sales total in each market since the start of the decade.

First up, office sales closed in Boston during the first five years of the decade added up to roughly $29.6 billion, which was the largest overall total among the markets included in our analysis. Of that, sales closed in 2021 accounted for more than 30% of the total — $10.1 billion worth of Boston office space traded in 152 deals during that year.

Next, Manhattan, N.Y., racked up the second-largest five-year office sales total (roughly $27.6 billion) from 2020 through 2024. Here again, nearly 34% of that total was represented by office sales closed in 2021, when about $9.4 billion worth of assets changed hands.

Similarly, the Bay Area’s best office sales year since the start of the decade was also in 2021, when transactions added up to nearly $9.4 billion. A significant sales year indeed, as that total represented about 41% of office sales closed here since 2020 — nearly $23 billion, which was the third-largest total among the markets in our ranking.

Top Markets by Total Office Sales Activity Since 2020: Most Sales Closed in DFW; Washington, D.C.; & Chicago

Of the markets included in our analysis, the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex recorded the largest number of office transactions: Nearly 690 deals closed here between 2020 and 2024 with 2021 being the year with the most sales activity in the market (201 office assets changed hands in one year).

Not far behind, there were 578 office transactions during the first five years of the decade in Washington, D.C., which was the second-highest investment activity during that time period. Chicago was a close third with 575, followed by Houston with 527 and Atlanta with 521.

In the case of Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Houston; and Atlanta, it was 2022 when each market saw its highest number of office sales per year.

The rest of the markets in this top 10 had fewer than 500 office sales close during the same five-year period.