Leasing surges, as availability rates return to pre-pandemic norms
Leasing volume in Northern Virginia surged to about 3.0 million square feet (msf) in Q2 2026, more than double the Q1 2026 total and the market’s third-highest quarterly total of the last five years. Demand was heavily concentrated in top-quality buildings, with Class A buildings capturing more than 90.0% of total leasing volume. Reflecting a familiar pattern, defense contractors accounted for many of the quarter’s largest transactions. Peratonleased more than 300,000 square feet (sf) of new space across three different buildings in Herndon, including Volkswagen’s former headquarters and a build-to-suit development on the same site. Other defense contractor leases for more than 50,000 sf included CGI Federal in Fairfax, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) in Chantilly and Innovative Defense Technologies in Ballston.