Leasing activity in the Detroit office market didn’t plummet in the first quarter of the year. But it didn’t surge, either, according to the latest research from Savills.
Instead, the numbers tell a more familiar story: The Detroit office market is settling into a slower, steadier rhythm after several years of turbulence.
According to a first-quarter 2026 report from Savills, office tenants in the Detroit market leased about 700,000 square feet of space across the region during the first three months of the year. That total matches the office leasing activity from the first quarter of 2025 but trails the stronger pace recorded at the end of last year.
What does this mean? Savills suggests that companies are still making decisions about their office footprints in Detroit. They’re just not rushing to add space.
In fact, the largest transactions in the first quarter were split evenly between tenants renewing their existing leases and those relocating to new spaces. That balance highlights a key shift: Businesses are focused on optimizing how much space they use and where they use it, not necessarily growing their footprints.
It’s a sign that Detroit’s office sector has moved beyond its most unpredictable stretch. Today’s market is more stable, even if that stability comes with more modest leasing totals.
There are other hints of that gradual stabilization, too. The region’s office availability rate dropped to 23.6% in the first quarter, down from 24.5% a year earlier. That’s not a dramatic improvement, but it continues a slow trend in the right direction.
Part of the reason for the drop in vacancy is that there is less office inventory to fill in the Detroit market today. Savills points to older, obsolete office buildings that are leaving the market, either through conversion projects, demolition or long-term vacancy that effectively removes them from competitive inventory. That shrinking supply has helped nudge availability rates lower.
Some large blocks of space returned to the market in the first quarter, creating pockets of volatility in certain submarkets. These shifts are often tied to companies consolidating their operations rather than abandoning office space altogether.
As in most markets, well-located, higher-quality buildings continue to attract interest from tenants. Older, commodity office space? That’s a tougher sell, Savills said. And the gap between high-quality modern office space and older office properties is only growing wider.
Average asking rents across the Detroit market fell 3.3% year over year to $21.41 a square foot. Class-A properties in Detroit, though, are still commanding higher rents, averaging $23.33 a square foot in the first quarter, according to Savills’ report.
Even with the annual dip, there are signs that pricing may be finding its footing. Asking rents have inched up over the past three quarters, suggesting that the market may be stabilizing after earlier corrections.
Landlords, for their part, aren’t slashing deals across the board. Many are holding firm on concession packages while making targeted adjustments to asking rents based on a building’s location and quality. That approach is reinforcing a reality that’s becoming increasingly clear in Detroit: Not all office space is created equal.
Submarkets such as Ann Arbor and Birmingham are continuing to show stronger pricing power, thanks in part to their appeal to tenants seeking updated, efficient and well-located space.
