Portland’s office market was buoyed by positive leasing activity news this quarter: nine leases over 25,000 sq. ft. were signed, including several renewals of major tenants in Class A towers downtown. Tenants new to Portland include Apple and Lululemon, locating in Sunset Corridor/Hillsboro and NW Close-in, respectively. With Oregon schools opening for in-person instruction this fall, there will be more reasons for people to return to working from their physical offices, spurring economic activity downtown. Overall vacancy in the CBD has surpassed 20.0% this quarter after increasing 5.6% in 4 quarters, increasing from 15.4% one year ago to 21.0% now. Rents on new construction will remain firm but concessions will continue to chip away at net effective rents until there is more demand than supply.
