The Dallas office market continued to build momentum through the first half of 2026, posting another quarter of positive absorption as companies continued to favor newer, high-quality office space, according to JLL‘s Dallas Office Market Dynamics and Statistics, Q2 2026 report.
JLL reported that the market recorded 500,551 square feet of year-to-date net absorption through the end of the second quarter, another sign that demand is gradually returning despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
In its report, JLL said that the Dallas office sector remains resilient even as economic headwinds continue to slow activity in commercial real estate markets across the country. Much of the activity int the Dallas office market, though, consists of tenants relocating within the metro area rather than significantly expanding their footprints.
In some of the bigger moves of the second quarter, Deloitte relocated from the Dallas Arts Tower in the Dallas Central Business District to 23Springs in Uptown, Texas. Merit Energy also moved from Galleria North Tower II in Far North Dallas to Lincoln Center along the LBJ Freeway corridor. According to JLL, both companies leased more than 100,000 square feet while maintaining office footprints similar to their previous locations.
Those relocations are an example of what has become one of the defining trends in today’s office market: companies are gravitating toward newly built or recently renovated buildings offering higher-quality amenities and modern work environments.
That trend has also helped fuel development activity in Dallas’ most desirable office districts. JLL reported that Knox & McKinney delivered more than 270,000 square feet of new office space during the second quarter, adding to what remains a relatively limited construction pipeline while reinforcing Uptown’s position as the metro’s leading destination for new office product.
Demand for premium buildings has also supported rent growth. According to JLL, Trophy office properties continue to lead increases in asking rents while rising tenant improvement costs have pushed pricing higher. As more newly constructed buildings surpass gross asking rents of $100 a square foot, owners of mid-priced office buildings may gain additional room to raise rents as the pricing gap between product types widens.
The investment market, meanwhile, remains highly selective. JLL said that a growing number of office buildings have been listed for sale, but pricing has become increasingly polarized. Investors continue directing capital toward well-leased, high-performing assets in the strongest submarkets while showing far less interest in older or secondary properties.
Rather than selling buildings at discounted values, many owners have instead opted to refinance existing debt or bring in equity partners through recapitalizations, according to the report. JLL said that it expects transactions scheduled to close during the third quarter to provide important pricing benchmarks as investors continue evaluating office assets.
The Dallas office market is also benefitting from strong corporate migration. Samsung recently announced plans to relocate its U.S. headquarters from New Jersey to Plano, adding to a growing list of companies choosing the Dallas-Fort Worth region. JLL noted that more than 100 companies have relocated their headquarters to the metro area since 2018.
Looking ahead, JLL expects the market’s steady performance to continue through the remainder of 2026. The report forecasts continued positive net absorption while projecting vacancy to edge lower from its current 26.5%. Overall direct asking rents reached $36.91 per square foot during the second quarter, while Class A direct asking rents climbed to $42.86 per square foot. JLL also reported that the market has approximately 1.84 million square feet under construction, with more than 75% of that space already preleased.
