At the beginning of every calendar year, a large number of reports about commercial office markets are issued. The authors of these reports include commercial real estate firms (both local and national) and major consulting firms. Here are a couple of headlines from two different firms’ reports focused on net absorption in Kansas City.

Net absorption tracks the total square footage newly leased by tenants while simultaneously accounting for the square footage vacated by others.

The Discrepancy

• Local Firm A reports:
  • “2025 finishes with over 800,000 sq. ft. of positive net absorption.”
  • “Vacancy rates fell from 17.8% to 17.5% quarter-over-quarter in the overall market, a result of positive net absorption.”
• Local Firm B reports:
  • “Kansas City has vacancy rising to 11.9% by Q3 2024 and negative [net] absorption of 550,000 square feet over the past year.”

How could two local firms publish such different findings? One says net absorption was 800,000 sq. ft. positive, while the other claims it was 550,000 sq. ft. negative. One says the vacancy rate fell to 17.5% and the other says it rose to 11.9%.

What Truly Matters

Rather than try to understand how the discrepancies came to be, here’s what Wally & Co. knows to be true:

The only data that matters when your firm is ready to search the market is how many buildings in your quality and location set have the space to meet your occupancy needs.

With a few exceptions, your number of choices will be in the double digits. And with multiple competitive buildings available, Wally & Co. knows how to leverage the negotiation in your favor.