homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Real Estate


print  email to a friend  reprints add to mydjc  

November 23, 2015

JLL says Seattle still a relative bargain for tech firms compared to SF and NYC

A new report by Jones Lang LaSalle says the Seattle-Bellevue office market remains a “relative bargain” for tech companies, despite low vacancy rates and rapidly rising rents.

The 2015 Technology Office Outlook report noted that the average asking office rent in the Seattle area is $33.70 a square foot, about half of San Fransisco's $66.80.

JLL said demand from tech companies has helped push local office vacancies to their lowest level in a decade, and that has led to a nearly 8 percent jump in rents over the last 12 months.

There also are few large blocks of available space, especially in sought-after markets.

Tech companies looking to expand have limited options, but that will change over the next two years as several million square feet of new space hits Seattle and Bellevue, according to the report.

“Creative space users in the market today for additional space are having to get creative to find the right deals in what is still a tightening market (locally),” said JLL managing director Chris Hughes in a news release. “But that pressure is likely to begin to ease in 2017 as new space comes online and tech companies see far more options than they can see now.”

The report said another challenge facing tech companies looking to expand here is finding qualified workers. It said Washington recruits more tech workers than any other state, yet about 25,000 tech jobs went unfilled over the last six months.

Average annual tech wages top $154,000 in the Puget Sound area and unemployment is at 4.1 percent, well below the national average of 5 percent. Annual job growth in that sector is 8.8 percent.

“We're in a location of prime appeal for tech companies because of the depth of young talent in the region; the quality and affordability of both our commercial and residential real estate; and the overall standard of living that we enjoy here; all of which attracts the type of workers coveted by tech companies,” Hughes said.

The report pointed out that local apartment rents average less than $1,400 a month, while New York City is at $2,800 and San Francisco is at $3,000.

The report covers 37 markets across the country. It can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/JLL-TO15.




Email or user name:
Password:
 
Forgot password? Click here.