Seattle Office Market
| Average Asking Rent (Price/SF) | $41.97 |
| Vacancy Rate (%) | 10.1% |
| Net Absorption (SF) | -1,004,930 |
The Puget Sound office market began coming back to life in the first quarter of 2021, giving hope that the worst of the downturn may be over. Average asking rents increased slightly to $41.97/SF FSG, up 0.4% for the quarter but down by -0.3% year over year. The region experienced -1.0 million square feet of negative absorption during the first quarter, which was largely the result of slow deal flow over the prior three quarters, along with pandemic-related occupancy restrictions. Vacancy in the region increased to 10.1%, up 160 basis points for the quarter and 310 basis points year over year. Development is booming in Puget Sound; the market ranks second in the country, with 9.4 million square feet of office space under construction, trailing only Manhattan. There was 1.0 million square feet of new office construction delivered during the first quarter and another 2.3 million square feet which broke ground. There has been 6.1 million square feet added to the construction inventory since the start of 2020, which speaks to the firm belief investors have in the long-term prospects of the region.
Seattle Industrial Market
| Average Asking Rent (Price/SF) | $10.12 |
| Vacancy Rate (%) | 4.7% |
| Net Absorption (SF) | 1,944,412 |
In 2020, the total industrial inventory grew to 223.5 million square feet, a 2.7-million-square-foot increase from the past year. With 179,420 square feet positive absorption during the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of positive 2.2 million square feet absorption of industrial space was reported for all of 2020. The vacancy rate also stood at 4.8%, ticking up just slightly from 4.7% last quarter due to added inventory totaling more than this quarter’s absorption. The overall average asking rent also increased slightly, to $0.78/SF from $0.77/SF last year, a $0.01/SF increase.
Download Seattle Industrial Market Report 4Q20