Philadelphia continues to trail most major U.S. markets in the absorption of large-block office space, with availability declining by only 1.6% from its peak. This modest reduction — representing spaces of 100,000 square feet or more in Class A buildings — underscores the region’s sluggish leasing activity compared to other thriving cities.

Among major metros, only Denver posted a smaller decline at 1.3%, while high-performing markets recorded sharp improvements. San Jose leads the nation with a 35.5% decrease in big-block availability, followed by Atlanta (18%), Austin (15.5%), and Los Angeles (13.8%). Even East Coast peers outpaced Philadelphia: New York and Chicago each saw 12.8% reductions, and Boston improved by 7.1%.

The disparity highlights Philadelphia’s ongoing challenge to attract large corporate tenants driving growth elsewhere. Markets like Austin and Atlanta have benefited from corporate relocations, tech-sector expansions, and major consolidations. Austin’s success, for example, reflects moves by Oracle and Tesla, while Atlanta’s strong performance is tied to major leases by Microsoft, Google, and Visa, each occupying hundreds of thousands of square feet.