The “ninth consecutive quarter” headline described Kidder Mathews’ Seattle-area office vacancy series in Q1 2024—not the current market. The firm put regional vacancy at 15.1%, up from 13.9% at the end of 2023, and reported nine straight quarters of negative net absorption. By Q2 2026, reports still showed high vacancy, but the picture was mixed: CBRE reported steady Puget Sound vacancy and positive absorption, while separate brokerage reports put Seattle CBD vacancy near 36%.
What the ninth consecutive increase measured
In Q1 2024, Kidder Mathews reported Seattle-area regional office vacancy of 15.1%, compared with 13.9% at year-end 2023. That was the ninth consecutive quarterly increase in that report’s series. It also recorded nine consecutive quarters of negative net absorption. Net absorption is the office space occupied during a period minus the space vacated. GeekWire reported the figures from the Kidder Mathews report: GeekWire’s account of the Q1 2024 figures.
The same account gave a separate Seattle city figure: vacancy rose to 18.35% in Q1 2024 from 16.6% in Q4 2023. That city figure is not interchangeable with the regional rate.
What Seattle office vacancy looked like in Q2 2026
More recent reports still point to substantial vacant or available office space, but they do not produce one directly comparable rate. The firms report different geographies and datasets; vacancy and availability are also distinct measures. Use each number with its provider, geography, metric, and quarter.
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| Source and geography | Q2 2026 finding |
|---|---|
| CBRE, Puget Sound region | Total vacancy was 28.2%, unchanged from the prior quarter; total availability was 28.1%. Net absorption was positive 64,000 square feet. |
| CBRE, Seattle CBD | Positive net absorption of 83,000 square feet. |
| Cushman & Wakefield, Seattle CBD | Vacancy was 35.8%, 120 basis points higher than a year earlier. |
| Cushman & Wakefield, Seattle suburban market | Vacancy was 23.6%, 110 basis points higher year over year. |
| Colliers, Seattle CBD | Vacancy was 36.2%. |
| Colliers, Puget Sound region | Vacancy was 26.0%, down 30 basis points from the prior quarter. |
These are separate broker estimates, not a harmonized time series. The cited reports do not provide a shared methodology that reconciles their figures. CBRE’s Q2 2026 findings are in its Puget Sound office report; Cushman & Wakefield’s are in its Seattle office report; and Colliers’ are in its Seattle and Puget Sound report.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why office demand was under pressure in 2024
GeekWire’s account of the Q1 2024 report pointed to hybrid work, technology companies shrinking their real-estate footprints, and layoffs after the tech downturn that began in 2022. It also noted that some companies were bringing employees back while many continued to offer remote-friendly arrangements. These were reported pressures at the time, not an exhaustive or newly verified explanation of later vacancy figures.
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Downtown activity had recovered only partly by then. The Downtown Seattle Association reported an average of more than 85,000 daily workers downtown in February 2024—16% above February 2023, but around half of pre-pandemic levels, according to GeekWire. That is a February 2024 count, not a current estimate. See GeekWire’s account of the workforce and demand context.
Kidder Mathews described the outlook in the report as: “Looking forward, tepid office demand coupled with historically high availability rates and negative net absorption present concern.” This was a passage from the report reproduced by GeekWire, not a quotation attributed to a named individual: the reproduced report passage.
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How to compare Seattle office-market figures
- Check the geography. Seattle CBD, Seattle city, Seattle suburbs, and the broader Puget Sound region are different market boundaries.
- Check the measure. Vacancy and availability are not synonyms; CBRE, for example, reported both regional figures for Q2 2026.
- Keep the provider attached. The Q2 2026 Seattle CBD figures from Cushman & Wakefield and Colliers were 35.8% and 36.2%, respectively. Those estimates should not be blended or treated as a single definitive rate.
- Compare like quarters and definitions. A quarter-over-quarter change from one provider cannot be directly combined with another firm’s year-over-year measure without compatible boundaries and methodology.
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