The Resurgence Of Class-A Office And More To Be Discussed At Bisnow's Phoenix Event

After several years of pandemic-driven slumps, the Phoenix office market is on the rise.

The market is stabilizing, driven by persistent flight to quality, with Class-A and trophy buildings leading the charge. These assets are significantly outperforming older, obsolete spaces as investors prioritize amenitized spaces. 

Commonwealth Land Title, a national commercial services title insurance and escrow company with a longstanding presence in Arizona, serves as a one-stop shop, providing best-in-class local, regional and national CRE services in construction disbursing, land trusts and more.

Commonwealth Land Title NCS Vice President, National Commercial Accounts, Shane Doherty, who joined the company in 2021, has been part of this shift, seeing the office market reactivate.

“The office market in Phoenix has seen the strongest net absorption since 2020,” he said. “In just Q4 2025, we saw more than 531K SF absorbed, which is very encouraging.”

Doherty will discuss these shifts while moderating a panel called Market Fundamentals From Trophy to Class-C Offices at Bisnow’s Phoenix Office Forum on April 30. Register here.

Doherty spoke to Bisnow about some of Phoenix’s office trends, the investment trends he is seeing and how Commonwealth is helping broker deals. 

Bisnow: What are some office trends you're seeing in Phoenix?

Doherty: One of the things that is often talked about in the office market is net absorption. This is the first time since 2020 that the market posted positive net absorption, not just for Phoenix but for Maricopa County. Vacancy has come down to around 15% in Maricopa County, showing the increased demand for office. We’re seeing more of a flight to quality, especially with tenants looking to amenitize offices.

Bisnow: How are leasing and investment trends driving transactions and submarket activity?

Doherty: On the flip side of Class-A doing well, older Class-B and C buildings are having weak demand. The gap is pretty wide open when it comes to leasing decisions. Some of the submarkets leading the pack are Tempe, the Camelback Corridor, Scottsdale and Chandler, which are hubs with Class-A products.

As it relates to the older buildings, we’re seeing more conversations about conversions, such as residential and mixed-use developments. But investors and developers are still weighing their options between premium assets versus everything else. 

Hybrid work is also reshaping the requirements of what tenants are looking for. The office market isn’t going anywhere, but to get more people to come back, you have to redefine what those spaces look like. Tenants are not buying big spaces. They're using less square footage but making it more intentional, prioritizing a comfortable, high-quality and collaborative environment. 

Bisnow: How is Commonwealth Land Title helping to guide partners in this sector? 

Doherty: We act as a neutral party that facilitates CRE transactions involving lenders, buyers, sellers, brokers and attorneys. You can’t buy or sell commercial real estate without an owner’s policy, nor can you refinance or obtain a construction loan without a lender’s policy, so title insurance holds a vital role in the market. 

We’re like a gas station: You can’t drive a car without gas. With any gas station, you can get gas and leave. However, our clients choose to drive the extra mile to work with us because our entire team meets/exceeds their criteria: white glove full service, detail attentiveness, high-level communication and experience, all critical factors needed when it comes to commercial real estate transactions. Our clients need to be represented by the top title and escrow professionals, underwriters and legal counsel in the industry, and we’re honored to provide that.

Our NCS team strives to provide incremental value “beyond the escrow.” We're here to serve. For us, that means providing our clients with a free data property tool called Nite Owl Pro, which helps them search property types; educating our clients by providing training sessions in title, escrow, guides to endorsements, mechanic’s liens coverage; and evaluating their criteria to connect them with the people who can address their needs.

This intermediary role we have taken requires a lot of trust and time to build, and we’re proud that our clients can lean on us.

Bisnow: What are some hot topics that will be covered at Bisnow’s event?

Doherty: The main topic will be the positive trends in Phoenix’s office market that are helping it bounce back.

I think one of the biggest darlings is the Taiwanese Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., TSMC, which is the largest manufacturer of semiconductor chips in the world. Replicating their mothership in Asia to Phoenix will be another big thing discussed — a $165B investment in Arizona. Think about how that infrastructure alone will influence not just the office market but also employees, housing, retail and education. 

Bisnow: What do you hope people will take away from the event?

Doherty: My intention is for this event to be engaging for our audience. I think that having more of a conversation, rather than just bouncing all over the place, will be more effective. We want to make sure that people leave with, “Hey, it was worth my time attending this event.”

A mentor once told me, “Shane, you've got to take people's minds to places they've never been.”

It’s a core competency of mine, so when it comes to moderating an event like this among my peers to raise awareness and better educate, I do hope they walk away with more than just respinning what they may already know. 

For more information about Bisnow’s office event, click here. 

This article was produced in collaboration between Commonwealth Land Title and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.