After a long chill across much of the office sector, the Sun Belt is warming up fast. Major property owners are seeing a surge of leasing driven by corporate relocations from high-tax, high-regulation metros to growth hubs like Dallas, Tampa, Charlotte and Raleigh.
Atlanta-based Cousins Properties, a leading integrated REIT focused on Class A towers in high-growth Sun Belt cities, reported a sharp third-quarter rebound. Executive Vice President of Operations Richard Hickson said during the company’s October 31, 2025, earnings call that the firm completed 40 office leases totaling 551,000 square feet, with an average term of 9.4 years. Leasing volume was 65% higher than in the previous quarter and above Cousins’ one, three and five-year averages. Dallas and Tampa posted the strongest rent roll-ups, followed closely by Austin and Charlotte, as average net rent reached $39.18 per square foot—its third-highest quarterly level on record.
Cousins CEO Michael Connolly attributed the sustained momentum to a continuing corporate migration southward.
“The migration of technology and financial services companies has been largely driven by moving out of high-tax and high-regulation states into markets where there is a highly educated workforce and exciting and dynamic markets,” Connolly said.
That pattern is also benefiting Highwoods Properties, which reported broad-based leasing strength across multiple geographic fronts. During the company’s October 29 earnings call, CEO Theodore Klinck described Dallas as “incredibly busy,” with Charlotte “right behind.” Raleigh, too, was showing heightened activity, while Tampa continued to attract new out-of-state tenants.
“We’re seeing it across our footprint,” Klinck said. “The immigration seems to be accelerating.”
Piedmont Realty Trust is capturing a similar wave, banking on relative affordability to attract companies seeking high-quality space without top-tier market rents. CEO Christopher Smith emphasized that competitive pricing is drawing national and regional firms looking to reestablish office presence.
“If you want fabulous space to bring your people back, but you don’t want to pay $65 to $80 gross, you come to a Piedmont building,” he said.
“We are much more appealing to a larger segment of the market, and the data set shows that—that’s why we’ve seen so much uptick in our assets.”
With corporate relocations continuing and talent hubs expanding across the Sun Belt, the region’s office sector appears to have rediscovered its momentum—fueling optimism that the long cold spell may finally be over.
© Arc, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to TMSalesOperations@arc-network.com. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.