Seattle/Puget Sound leasing activity up with market fundamentals relatively steady as economic clouds gather

While the national economy trended toward more economic uncertainty as the third quarter came to a close, Seattle/Puget Sound economic fundamentals exhibited a picture of relative stability. August unemployment held at 3.5% across the Seattle MSA, below the 3.7% national average. Office-using employment growth was healthy, rising 9.8% year over year. Occupier demand increased in the third quarter as evidenced by the region's highest quarterly leasing volume in two years. The 1.9 million square feet (msf) leased this period marked a 30.3% increase over the same period in 2021. Higher demand in the third quarter was led by the Eastside as Meta Platforms leased more than 200,000 square feet (st) at the former Zetron headquarters in Redmond. In addition, strong life sciences demand has resulted in developers looking at lab space conversions or new ground-up development as a response.

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