Record High Vacancy: 19.6% of U.S. Office Space Unleased, Surpassing Previous Records Since 1979.

Offices Around America Hit a New Vacancy Record. “A staggering 19.6% of office space in major U.S. cities wasn’t leased as of the fourth quarter, according to Moody’s Analytics, up from 18.8% a year earlier. That is slightly above the previous records of 19.3% set in 1986 and 1991 and the highest number since at least 1979, which is as far back as Moody’s data go.”