Based on SVN International’s 2025 State of the Market Report: Office Sector
SVN International’s most recent State of the Market Report highlights a truth that’s becoming increasingly evident across the country: the office market isn’t disappearing, it’s transforming. While hybrid and home office models have reshaped the way organizations use space, the underlying demand for well-located, flexible, and experience-driven offices is growing stronger in select markets.
Here in Ohio, we’re seeing that shift play out in real time. Employers are no longer asking if they need an office, they’re asking what kind of office will help them attract and retain talent, foster culture, and deliver efficiency. According to SVN International, vacancy rates in traditional downtown cores have stabilized, while suburban and adaptive-use offices are experiencing renewed attention. The market is shifting from quantity to quality, and landlords who understand that are finding creative ways to adapt their portfolios.
Hybrid work has redefined the meaning of “workspace.” Tenants are seeking offices that provide collaboration zones, outdoor areas, natural light, and advanced technology. Properties that once competed purely on location are now competing on experience, how a building makes people feel when they walk in, how it supports productivity, and how it reflects a company’s values. SVN’s report points out that national investors are increasingly drawn to repositioning opportunities, taking underperforming office assets and turning them into high-demand environments for healthcare, education, flex, or co-working uses.
This trend has been particularly visible across Ohio’s growing metro areas. In Akron, Cleveland, and Columbus, landlords are rethinking their leasing strategies, improving amenities, and redesigning layouts to match the hybrid world’s flexibility. Rather than viewing remote work as a threat, savvy property owners are using it as a springboard for innovation. Smaller footprints, flexible lease terms, shared amenities, and wellness-driven design are now seen as tools to attract a more discerning tenant base.
At SVN Summit Commercial Real Estate Advisors, we’re proud to help our clients navigate this evolution. Our team works closely with landlords, investors, and tenants to identify how a property can best serve the market’s changing needs. For some, that means optimizing an existing office to better accommodate hybrid teams, with collaborative zones, quiet pods, or reconfigured common areas. For others, it means repositioning an older asset into a new use, medical, mixed-use, or creative co-working.
We share SVN International’s view that this is not a time of decline, but of opportunity. The office sector’s next chapter belongs to those who see beyond traditional leasing and embrace the shift toward flexibility, innovation, and community. As Ohio continues to attract new business investments and talent, adaptive landlords stand to gain the most.
The data from SVN’s national analysis gives us the framework; our local market experience turns it into action. By pairing these two perspectives, we help our clients anticipate demand, price intelligently, and invest confidently. Our goal isn’t just to react to where the market is going, it’s to position our clients to lead within it.
The modern office may look different than it did a decade ago, but one thing remains unchanged: great spaces drive great business. At SVN Summit CRE, we’re here to make sure those spaces evolve alongside the people who use them. For more information on how SVN Summit Commercial Real Estate Advisors can advise you strategically towards your next move, feel free to reach out to SVNSummitCommercial@SVN.com.