Kansas City Office Market Report 1Q26

The 1Q26 Kansas City office market report by Newmark covers employment trends, leasing fundamentals, and transaction activity, finding that the region's unemployment rate stood at 3.9% in December 2025 (50 basis points below the national average) while nonfarm payroll employment remained flat at -0.3%, with construction and education-health sectors leading job growth while business and professional services posted the largest losses. The report documents strong leasing momentum with 463,336 SF of net absorption in the quarter and 1.1 MSF over the past four quarters marking the seventh consecutive quarter of positive absorption, vacancy declining to 15.2% (down 130 basis points year-over-year), and average asking rents at $22.87/SF projected to grow 2.50% to 3.25% by year-end 2026.