Downtown Seattle Business Vacancy Rate Hits An All-Time High

Much of the industry in Seattle is powered by tech-related industry, but even with some movement in that sector, much of the city remains empty downtown.

  Seattle Downtown Business Vacancy Rate rises again

According to the latest real estate numbers from CBRE  Seattle's Downtown building vacancy rate has risen to 34.7 percent, the highest in the US among major metro areas.

According to Geekwire:

"Downtown Seattle lost 257,879 square feet of occupied space in Q4, driven by tenant “rightsizing” and reductions in average space requirements, according to CBRE."

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Rightsizing is similar to downsizing, except it doesn't involve staff layoffs or reductions most of the time.  It's when a business reorganizes, scales back operations or a smaller building to allow it to run more efficiently and economically. A reset of sorts.

Despite a recent flurry of tech firms renting space downtown, the rate still rose 2 percent from last year, remains at five percent higher before the pandemic.

Nearby Bellevue also had a large vacancy rate of 25.4 percent, that's a 9 percent increase over 2025.  While the tech leasings are promising, they are the only major growth in the region.  Very few other businesses or companies are taking up shop in downtown Seattle.

In fact, more and more of those are gradually easing their way out of the area.

Despite some 'rosy' pictures of rebounding in the area, some of the major retailers, companies and businesses who have left include:  Nike, The North Face, Vans, Saks, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Lululemon.

According to data from the Washington Policy Center, WA State House Republicans, and other sources,  there are many reasons why businesses have been leaving the Downtown core and  Seattle in general:

• "Taxes: Washington's overall tax climate is seen as worsening by some groups, with high business & occupation (B&O) taxes and recent tax increases causing stress for small businesses, pushing some to shut down.
• Costs: High living expenses, especially housing, contribute to the overall cost of doing business, making Washington less competitive, according to the Tax Foundation and other analyses.
• Crime & Public Safety: Reports indicate increasing crime and drug issues, particularly in downtown Seattle, leading high-profile companies like Nike to leave and prompting broader concerns about business viability and revitalization."

So while tech firms are somewhat easing or slowing  the vacancy rate, the real root causes for the erosion of Seattle's economy.