In the first quarter of 2021, the total vacancy rate for the Downtown Seattle Office Market increased to 11.1% from 8.6% in the fourth quarter. The Q1 2021 net absorption for the Downtown Seattle Office Market is at (1,467,017) RSF and another 3,187,787 RSF is currently under construction. Several large occupiers in the region including: Amazon, Apple, DocuSign, and Zillow have announced return to work dates projected to be in the summer and fall of 2021. The initial return to work will certainly include options to work from home part or full time. According to the Work Trend Index report released by Microsoft “...employees want the best of both worlds: over 70 percent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue, while over 65 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams.”
Market activity is improving from last quarter and tenants transacting are achieving favorable deal terms. On the flip side, the amount of new available sublease space that has come to market since the beginning of the pandemic has steadily increased to over 3,000,000 RSF. We expect market forces to be in favor of the tenant for the foreseeable future, but caution that landlord confidence is beginning to improve as the economy begins to re-open.
Market activity is improving from last quarter and tenants transacting are achieving favorable deal terms. On the flip side, the amount of new available sublease space that has come to market since the beginning of the pandemic has steadily increased to over 3,000,000 RSF. We expect market forces to be in favor of the tenant for the foreseeable future, but caution that landlord confidence is beginning to improve as the economy begins to re-open.