Efficiency Mandate: GSA Data Reveals Crisis of Underutilized Federal Space

New GSA data reveals massive underutilization across the federal real estate portfolio, prompting the Trump administration to accelerate building sales and consolidations.

By: AXL Media

Published: Apr 6, 2026, 11:04 AM EDT

Source: Bisnow

The Scale of Underutilization

The initial audit, conducted between January and March 2026, covered the 23 largest federal agencies and identified 9,766 sites with utilization rates lower than 60%. Perhaps most startling is that according to GSA Administrator Edward Forst, no single major agency currently meets the 60% occupancy benchmark. This data validates previous reports from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), which suggested that headquarters usage for some agencies hovered as low as 12% to 25%. The release of this "near real-time" data is intended to define the scope of waste and prioritize the disposal of maintenance-heavy properties.

Departmental Performance Breakdown

The GSA’s topline analysis highlights significant discrepancies in space usage across the cabinet:

National Science Foundation: Reported the lowest utilization at just 3.3% for its 800K SF footprint.

NASA: Utilizes only 16% of its 11.2 million square feet.