Office Market Corporate Occupancy Reaches Its Lowest Level Since 2019

Sometimes, the most important changes in a market are explained not by what happens, but by what stops happening. Between April and June, only 31 companies occupied office space across Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. It was the lowest quarterly level of corporate occupancy recorded by SiiLA since 2019 and less than one-third of the historical average.

The weak pace of corporate occupancy, however, did not begin in April. So far in 2026, the market has averaged 51 companies occupying office space per quarter, 81% fewer than during the first half of 2025 and 62% below the average recorded in the first halves of 2020 through 2025. The result was slower absorption, but not a deterioration in occupancy.

According to SiiLA, the combined vacancy rate across Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey declined from 15.3% to 15.0% between the first and second quarters of 2026, returning to levels similar to those seen at the end of 2025 while maintaining the downward trend that began three years ago.

The decline in vacancy was made possible by the absence of new inventory. A favorable balance between absorption and vacancies also supported it. Between April and June, the market absorbed nearly three square meters for every square meter vacated, above the average recorded over the past three years.

That pattern reflects a different kind of slowdown than those seen in previous market cycles. Net absorption declined 33% from the previous quarter and 59% from the same period in 2025, yet the average transaction size remained virtually unchanged. During the second quarter, each company absorbed about 1,050 square meters, compared with a historical average of just over 1,000 square meters.

Overall, this suggests that demand did not weaken because occupiers reduced the size of their real estate decisions, but because fewer companies chose to enter the market.

The question, then, is which companies occupied the space that was absorbed. Among them were Quálitas, Universidad Amerike, and American Industries, which together accounted for 59% of all absorption recorded between April and June. The more significant finding, however, was not those names but the composition of demand. Of the 31 companies that occupied office space during the second quarter, only three had absorbed space in any of the previous four quarters, 18 appeared for the first time in SiiLA’s historical series, and 10 returned to the market after more than a year without recording a new absorption.

In other words, recent demand was not driven by the continued expansion of a small group of occupiers, but by companies that appeared or reappeared in the market after a prolonged period of inactivity. If that pattern continues over the coming quarters, the market’s recovery will depend less on the size of individual transactions and more on a larger number of companies returning to leasing decisions.

For more analysis of Mexico’s office market, visit SiiLA Market Analytics or contact us at contacto@siila.com.mx.