Office Vacancy Rate Increases Fastest in Tech Hubs

Technology hubs have seen the most significant growth in office vacancy rate over the last 12 months. Austin, San Francisco and Seattle had the highest increase in office vacancy during the pandemic, according to the national office report from CommercialEdge. Austin vacancy increased 720 basis points, while the rate in San Francisco and Seattle grew 550 and 480 basis points, respectively.

Tech companies were able to easily transition to remote work at the beginning of the pandemic, and many have announced plans to permanently adopt some form of remote work. This made it easier for companies in these markets to shed office space. For that reason, sublease supply has also increased. San Francisco had the second highest increase in sublease supply in 2020. The sublease supply grew a staggering 587% in San Francisco last year, with the total supply accounting for 51.8% of the total office vacancy in the market, per research from Cushman & Wakefield.