In real estate, the amount of additional space that is leased during a year (or other time period) That can be further defined Gross Absorption is the total amount of spaced leased during the time period Net Absorption is the net change in the amount of space leased in a given market Net Absorption can be positive, more space is being leased than is coming onto the market, or negative, more space is coming onto the market than is being leased Absorption Rate is the number of square feet of vacant rental space divided by the historical number of square feet leased per year