MARKET TAKEAWAYS
Seattle remained one of the hottest markets for "big tech" growth in 2020, despite pandemic challenges. Five of the top ten transactions over 100,000 square feet this year were signed by tech giants Amazon, Microsoft and Google. Aside from these large transactions, activity demand was significantly impacted with total leasing volume declining 61.5% year over year.
Disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic reinforced the value of technology more than ever. Start up activity and venture capital financing was attracted to firms from biotechnology, healthcare, fintech and artificial intelligence sectors in 2020.
Many firms have shed office footprint after a prolonged work-from-home experiment which resulted in the highest sublease availability ever recorded in Seattle. Despite vaccine rollout, the amount of sublease space is going to increase in coming quarters as many organizations continue to take a “wait-and-see” approach for office planning.
Greater demand for IT and tech sector services will continue to attract talent and bolster hiring in Seattle. With high sublease availability, tech employers have access to high-quality built space with abundant flexible-term options in the Downtown and Bellevue / Eastside submarkets. Source