- Apple and Nvidia are driving a new wave of owner-user office deals in Silicon Valley, taking advantage of discounted prices to secure long-term control over mission-critical facilities.
- Owner-user acquisitions accounted for over 50% of transaction volume in the Bay Area during H1 2025, with major players investing hundreds of millions in Sunnyvale, Cupertino, and Santa Clara.
- AI and semiconductor firms are fueling demand, especially for R&D-specific real estate, as companies prioritize asset control over leasing amid supply chain and cost uncertainties.
Tech’s Real Estate Strategy Shifts Back To Ownership
Major tech firms are returning to a pre-pandemic playbook: buy rather than lease, reports Bisnow. Led by Apple and Nvidia, tech companies are doubling down on strategic property acquisitions across Silicon Valley. In the first half of 2025, owner-user deals comprised 51.5% of transaction volume, according to JLL, as pricing below replacement costs proved too attractive to ignore.
“Pricing is below replacement costs. So, it’s an opportune moment,” said JLL’s Alexander Quinn. “Many of these tech firms have cash available to do it.”
Apple And Nvidia Lead The Charge
Apple has made three major office acquisitions this year alone, most recently purchasing a four-building Sunnyvale campus for $365M in July. That followed a $167M buy in Cupertino earlier in the year. Meanwhile, Nvidia made headlines in May with a $123M all-cash purchase of a 10-building campus near its Santa Clara HQ.
Semiconductor firm Applied Materials also joined the movement with a $25M building buy in July, part of a larger $4B investment in the region.
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Why It Matters
These acquisitions are more than just opportunistic buys. For AI and hardware-heavy companies, controlling their R&D facilities is increasingly a strategic necessity. Owner-user setups allow for:
- Tailored buildouts for specialized equipment
- Greater resilience amid supply chain shocks
- Long-term cost predictability in a volatile interest rate environment
Semiconductor firms alone have grown their owned footprint by 11% since 2024.
Ripple Effects On The Leasing Market
As companies purchase rather than lease prime office space, the leasing pool shrinks—especially for specialized facilities. This could make it harder for growing firms to find suitable locations in hot submarkets like Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.
However, the move is also seen as a stabilizing force for the market.
“It probably stabilizes the market further over time,” Quinn noted, “because it reduces the total of available leasable supply.”
What’s Next
The owner-user trend is expected to continue through the end of 2025 as companies with deep pockets prioritize control over flexibility. But risks remain: a sudden shift in profitability or new investment priorities could trigger asset sales, as seen with Zynga’s $600M headquarters sale in 2019.
For now, however, the signal from tech is clear: the Bay Area office market remains central to the industry’s next growth phase, especially as AI drives a new wave of expansion and R&D investment.
Bottom Line
Apple, Nvidia, and other tech leaders are reshaping Silicon Valley’s office landscape by buying rather than leasing. As AI accelerates, so does the demand for control, stability, and strategic positioning in the heart of innovation.
