Owen Thomas, chairman and CEO of BXP, Inc. (NYSE: BXP), sat down for a video interview at Nareit’s REITweek: 2026 Investor Conference in New York, June 1-4.
Thomas said leasing activity continues to strengthen across all of the REIT’s markets, led by New York City, with more than 1 million square feet leased in the first quarter and over 800,000 square feet leased so far in the second quarter. A pipeline of approximately 3.5 million square feet under letters of intent supports management's confidence in raising occupancy from 87% to 89% in 2026 and by another two percentage points in 2027, he noted.
Thomas said the debate around remote work has largely settled, with companies increasingly requiring office attendance to improve collaboration, training, culture, and productivity. He highlighted artificial intelligence as the most significant driver of new office demand, noting that AI companies are leasing space directly, while also displacing other tenants that subsequently seek new space in BXP's buildings.
“With all this capital that's being invested in AI infrastructure, in power, chips, et cetera, that's creating profits for legal companies, financial service companies, business service companies, and those have all been growing and very strong clients for us,” Thomas said.
Thomas also discussed how investors continue to misunderstand the office sector by focusing on overall market vacancy rates rather than what BXP calls the "premier workplace" segment. According to Thomas, top-tier buildings are outperforming dramatically, with vacancy rates below 10%, rents more than 50% higher than lower-quality properties, and positive net absorption. Because most of BXP's portfolio falls into this category, he believes the company is well positioned to benefit from the ongoing flight to quality.