Office towers that once sold for hundreds of millions of dollars are now changing hands at discounts of 70%, 80%, even 90% in major U.S. cities, as higher interest rates and remote work reshape demand for downtown space.
Few places illustrate this change more strikingly than Chicago. There, markdowns cover all eras of development, according to the numbers first tweeted by Nightingale Associates.
A century-old office building in the Printing House Row historic district at 401 S. State St. recently sold for just $4.2 million, down from $68.1 million in 2016, a 94 percent drop.
The prominent Loop tower at 311 S. Wacker Drive traded at an 85% discount, selling for $45 million, down from $302 million in 2014.
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People look at the skyline from a frozen beach on North Avenue on January 24, 2026, in Chicago. (Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu/Getty Images)
Even the newest, most high-profile properties haven’t been immune. Boeing’s long-term lease in 100 N. Riverside Plaza, not the tower itself, sold for $22 million, down from $165 million in 2005, an 87 percent decline.
And at 300 W. Adams St., a leasehold interest in the building changed hands for just $4 million, down from $51 million in 2012, a 92 percent reduction.
Taken together, these deals illustrate how much the economics of downtown office real estate have changed in just a few years, as rising interest rates and remote work reshape demand.
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Commercial space for lease in downtown Chicago on May 27, 2025. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
The consequences extend beyond owners and investors. In many large cities, office towers are the cornerstone of the tax base, helping to fund schools, public safety and public transportation. budgets.
And Chicago is not alone.
Across the country, downtown office buildings are trading at deep discounts. Last year, an 18-story building Dallas The office tower sold for $26.1 million, a 64% reduction from its 2016 sale price of $73 million.
In St. Louis, a 44-story tower sold in 2022 for $4.5 million, a fraction of the nearly $205 million sold in 2006. More recently, a downtown San Jose, Calif., office building sold for $23.7 million, well below its 2017 sale price of $80.1 million. In Newton, Mass., a complex of three office buildings changed hands last year for $117.5 million, about half its sale price. Price of $235 million in 2020.
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Soldier Field before the divisional playoff football game between the Rams and the Los Angeles Bears on January 18, 2026, in Chicago. (Kara Durrette/Getty Images)
Amid greater uncertainty about the future of downtowns, city leaders are also working to retain major economic anchors, including the Chicago Bears.
The team is exploring a possible move to Indianawhere a new stadium could be built near Wolf Lake in Hammond, just across the state line.
As property values fall, city leaders face tough choices: cut services, raise taxes elsewhere or absorb growing budget gaps.
