Mexico Says Goodbye to the Monolith: The Boom in Offices Under 100 sqm

In the corporate world, where power is measured in thousands of square meters, some companies barely claim a corner. According to SiiLA, over the past five years, the average lease in Mexico’s three largest office markets—Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey—was 750 sqm in a single building. However, 2% of those transactions were made by companies occupying spaces of less than 100 sqm, which are no bigger than a standard coffee shop.

Most (85%) of these leases were in Class A+ and A buildings, with discreet offices located on the first five floors. The most frequent tenants came from sectors such as healthcare, business services, law firms, and real estate, which typically require central or satellite offices for administrative and representative functions rather than large-scale operations.

Yet it’s not just small firms. Some conglomerates have also chosen compact offices, whether to stay close to strategic hubs, optimize costs or test new markets. Deloitte, for instance, leased a space of more than 100 sqm in Torre Montevideo in Guadalajara to directly serve clients, while AIWA took an office of a similar size in Torre Mayor, Mexico City, as part of its national rollout.

Far from being exceptions, these cases illustrate a pattern the pandemic accelerated across several sectors: the office is no longer a monolith but a network of flexible spaces. That shift is not theoretical; it is clearly reflected in SiiLA’s data.

Over the past five years—except in 2022 and 2023, when the share dipped—leases under 100 sqm accounted for between 3% and 4% of the annual total. But in 2024 and 2025, there were 2.5 times more such deals than in 2020–2021, showing that while the smallest spaces are still marginal, they are steadily becoming less so.

The paradox is that although their share of the inventory is minimal—barely one in fifty tenants occupies less than 100 sqm in a single building—their momentum moves in the opposite direction. In the past five years, this segment has grown by more than 40%. By contrast, tenants occupying spaces of 100 to 500 sqm grew by 15%, while those occupying between 1,000 and 5,000 sqm in a single location barely exceeded 10%.

This phenomenon is not merely a post-pandemic trend in real estate but reflects the very structure of Mexican business. According to INEGI, more than 99.8% of companies are classified as micro, small, or medium-sized. Unlike large conglomerates and government institutions, which tend to absorb extensive floorspace, most organizations expand step by step—and for them, compact offices are a natural base for growth.

If you want to explore the data behind this shift—by submarket, size ranges and timelines—visit SiiLA Market Analytics or contact us at contacto@siila.com.mx.