Year-end leasing activity declines following a sluggish 2023 in overall space demand

The Northern Virginia office market experienced a noticeable downturn in leasing activity over the past year, marking a significant shift from the previous year's trend. Leasing activity ended Q4 2023 with a total of 1.4 million square feet (msf) signed, a significant drop of 58.3% from the same period last year. This conclusion brought the year's total leasing activity to 6.7 msf, nearly equivalent to what was leased in just the latter half of 2019 (6.1 msf), just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The TAMI (technology, advertising, media, and information) sector, which has lagged as the primary driver of occupancy growth in NVA in recent years, reclaimed its top position in Q4. This resurgence was largely due to Amazon securing the two largest lease agreements of the quarter. The two short-term renewals totaled 348,000 square feet (sf) in the National Landing submarket at 1770 Crystal Drive and 241 18th Street S.

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