Office-to-apartment conversions continue to break records, with 90,300 such conversions in the pipeline across the United States as of the state of 2026, according to the latest research from RentCafe.
The office-to-apartment conversion trend is continuing to gain momentum, too. RentCafe said that this year’s figure is up 28% from the 70,600 such conversions in the pipeline as of January of 2025.
It looks, then, as if 2026 will be another record year for office-to-apartment projects.
The numbers tell the story: RentCafe said that office conversions now account for almost half — 47% — of all future adaptive reuse projects across the country.
The New York City metropolitan area leads with 16,358 conversions in the backlog, with the Washington D.C. area coming in second place with 8,479 planned office-to-apartment conversions. Chicago pulled up in third place, with 4,360 such conversions in the pipeline at the start of 2026.
Another Midwest market that is seeing strong office-to-apartment conversion activity? Cleveland. RentCafe said that the city ranks ninth in the country for these conversions, with 1,771 planned as of the start of 2026. Also in Ohio, Cincinnati ranked 10th on RentCafe’s list with 1,770 planned office-to-apartment conversions.
Dallas also landed in the top 10, with 3,966 office-to-apartment conversions in the planning stages as of the start of the year.
These conversions are a positive for the commercial real estate industry. They help remove outdated, difficult-to-lease office space off the market, replacing it with product that consumers want. The challenge? Conversions can be expensive. And only a limited number of office spaces are a good fit for conversions. They must be in the right location and boast a footprint that doesn’t require too much money to convert.
But for properties that qualify for a conversion? Don’t be surprised to see developers continuing to turn struggling office space into new multifamily buildings. As RentCafe explains, about one-third of U.S. office loans are set to mature by 2027. This means that many office owners face increasing pressure to act on underperforming properties.
“A massive amount of office building loans — over $213 billion — are coming due by the end of 2026,” said Doug Ressler, senior analyst and manager of business intelligence with Yardi Matrix, in a written statement. “When loans mature, borrowers need to either pay them off or refinance them. The problem is that many of these office buildings have lost significant value largely due to remote work trends reducing demand.”
While conversions are a useful too, they are not a cure-all for the office market. As RentCafe says in its report, conversions can be both costly and lengthy. Nearly 66,500 office-to-apartment conversions that were already underway in early 2025 are still under construction this year.
While office-to-apartment conversions are the most common, they are not the only type of conversions that developers and owners are undertaking. RentCafe said that hotels make up about 18% of future adaptive reuse projects, while industrial properties make up about 16%. Other building types, including healthcare facilities, schools, retail and government buildings, account for about 19%.
