Seattle/Puget Sound office sales volume surges

During the second quarter 2017, the Seattle/Puget Sound office market saw a rebound in overall leasing activity with 202,012 square feet of net absorption for the region, according to Transwestern.

Although, leasing activity is lower than the same period 12 months ago, the region still saw the largest office lease reported in 2017 with F5 Networks leasing all 515,000 square feet of office space at 801 5th Ave., now named F5 Tower, which is currently under construction in the Seattle CBD.

In addition, office sales volume bounced back during the second quarter with more than $1.2 billion in buildings sold, which was up 128 percent from the $527.8 million of office sales reported in the first quarter 2017. This brought year-to-date office sales volume to $1.7 billion, down 17 percent from the first six months of 2016.

The largest office sale of the quarter involved Union Investment Real Estate GmbH, which acquired the 100 percent Amazon–leased Midtown21 in the Denny Triangle from a joint venture of Trammell Crow and MetLife for $330.2 million.