Muted leasing activity persists through second quarter despite return-to-work mandates

Leasing activity in the second quarter, totaling 1.0 million square feet (msf), pointed to a persistent waning of demand for office space in the Seattle/Puget Sound market. Deal volume this quarter was 0.6 msf below the 5-year market average. Despite the implementation of return-to-work directives by major entities such as Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft, leasing volumes continue to significantly lag prepandemic levels. The greater prevalence of smaller deal sizes, with the largest transaction falling below 100,000 square feet (sf), signifies a prevailing inclination among companies to refrain from pursuing larger-scale office premises.

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