Commercial In-Sites expects office vacancy rates to decline in 2026 after an unstable period in commercial real estate in 2025.

The Merrillville commercial real estate firm offered the insights as part of its Class “A” office report reflecting on last year.

“2025 was somewhat of an unstable period in commercial real estate with market concerns over both new state and federal government administrations taking office, a lengthy federal government shutdown, new imposed tariffs, elevated mortgage interest rates, and high new construction costs that are limiting new construction,” said David Lasser, managing broker, in an email.

He also cited the trend of blending return to work and remote offices as a reason for occupancy rates that stayed mostly unchanged until the fourth quarter when “leasing activity picked up significantly.”

Year-over-year the office vacancy rate decreased 2% to 15%, and rents decreased 2 cents to $25.88 per square foot.

The report tracked 26 office properties with a total of almost 1.4 million square feet. Twelve of these properties reported no vacancies.

According to Newmark‘s fourth quarter report, the Chicago Central Business District's office vacancy rate topped 26% in the fourth quarter of 2025. Some reports showed Chicago suburban rates even higher, pushing 30% in some areas.