San Francisco Market Update: Office Vacancy Ticks Up

By the end of July, office vacancy in the San Francisco-Peninsula market reached 15.2 percent, CommercialEdge data shows. The metro did slightly better than the 15.5 percent national figure. Month-over-month, the average vacancy rate increased by 90 basis points (from 14.3 percent in June), while year-over-year, the value was up by 670 basis points—in July last year, the office vacancy rate was 8.5 percent.

The market continues to fluctuate, and construction activity is well underway. During the first half of the year, the number of construction starts in the market grew by 114 percent year-over-year. Overall, vacancies in suburban markets continue to outperform their urban counterparts.

Meanwhile, the Bay Area market—including the East and South Bay—experienced a drop in office vacancies as of July. Month-over-month, the figure dropped by 20 basis points, reaching 18.4 percent. A long road to recovery is expected, with vacancy for office properties 440 basis points higher year-over-year.

Leasing activity has stalled, as most submarkets did not record significant changes from the previous month. San Francisco’s core urban markets continued to experience among the highest vacancy rates. Vacancies in the North Financial District climbed 10 basis points month-over-month (at 16.0 percent in July), while in the South Financial District they decreased by 11 basis points (reaching 14.9 percent).

Submarkets where office properties fared better include South San Francisco, where demand for life sciences has brought vacancy to 6.0 percent in July (down 20 basis points month-over-month), and Redwood City, which recorded 7.8 percent vacancy, up by 240 basis points since June.

Across gateway cities, San Francisco lost some ground. In July, Manhattan continued to have the lowest vacancy for office properties, at 10.9 percent, while Chicago recorded the highest at 16.7 percent. Los Angeles continues to maintain itself stronger, with vacancy at 13.1 percent, relatively unchanged month-over-month.

CommercialEdge covers 8M+ property records in the United States. View the latest CommercialEdge national monthly office report here.