Tampa Bay’s office market did not just stabilize in 2025, it tightened. The region closed the year with 373,151 square feet of positive net absorption and a clear flight to quality into newer, amenity-heavy buildings. Much of the action centered on Westshore, where brisk leasing has thinned out the best Class A options and started to nudge rents higher in core submarkets.
According to the Tampa Bay Business Journal, that 373,151 square feet of gains, reported in a Feb. 23 piece by Chris Erickson, came as Westshore led the metro in leasing activity. The Business Journal framed 2025 as the moment when demand for modern space began to edge ahead of the supply of truly updated product across the Tampa Bay area.
Big deals push demand into newer buildings
Broker data from JLL shows even more momentum, with its Q4 2025 analysis tallying roughly 600,400 square feet of positive absorption and flagging several sizable commitments that have not fully occupied yet. JLL also reports that conversions and demolitions took older space out of circulation in 2025, effectively trimming the overall inventory and sharpening the competition for top tier offices.
Rents and vacancy tell a split story
Local broker research points to a two-track recovery: trophy and Class A buildings are tightening up, while older and more generic space is still struggling. The regional report from Colliers notes that Westshore and Bayside logged positive absorption early in 2025 and finds that employers are locking in larger, higher-quality footprints, which helps keep asking rents under upward pressure.
What to watch in 2026
All eyes now are on occupancy starts tied to the Fisher Investments and GEICO commitments. If those moves land on schedule, absorption could stay elevated into early 2026 and squeeze Class A availability even further. With much of the near-term construction pipeline already preleased, JLL suggests that owners with modern space are likely to keep pricing power unless speculative development picks up noticeably…