Source: GeekWire —
Office building attendance in downtown Seattle this past November increased year-over-year from 15-20% to 35-60%, as more companies establish in-office mandates, according to a new report from CBRE.
But only a “trickle” of tech tenants signed new leases downtown in the fourth quarter of last year, the report said, as leasing activity shifts toward professional service, legal, and finance firms.
The adoption of hybrid work policies at tech companies has hit the commercial real estate market hard. Total vacancy in the Seattle area reached 16.7% in the fourth quarter of last year, the highest level in more than a decade for the tech hub, according to a new report from JLL.
And now with widespread layoffs across the tech sector, the need for physical offices could deteriorate even further.
Several tech giants are deciding to give up office space. Meta said this month it would sublease a 6-story building near downtown Seattle and a 325,000 square-foot space in nearby Bellevue. Microsoft said it will not be renewing its lease at a 561,494 square-foot space in downtown Bellevue.
