Portland Office Market Report

Discounted rents aid core’s office use. From April to June 2023, the CBD had 168,000 square feet of Class A space absorbed on net. This was the core’s largest three-month total since the end of 2017, and resulted in the lowest annual rise in the local top-tier vacancy rate in over the past five years. Lower rents in historically-coveted core locations are supporting a tenant utilization recovery, with some office users finding options that are now within their budgets. In the CBD, the average Class A asking rate fell 2.8 percent since the onset of the pandemic, compared to a marketwide gain of 2.4 percent in the span. Recent commitments encouraged by these discounted rents include those made by Aon, Orrick, Miller Nash, and All Classical Radio. Alongside the boost to net absorption, move-ins like these will provide momentum for an economic recovery, as improving foot traffic signals more businesses to return to the CBD.