Downtown Seattle Shows Signs of Recovery as Office Market Turns Positive

New data reveals progress in public safety and the first office space gains in four years, though remote work continues to reshape the urban core

Seattle’s downtown is displaying mixed but encouraging signals of recovery more than five years after the pandemic upended urban centers across America, according to new data released by the Downtown Seattle Association.

The most notable development: downtown Seattle’s beleaguered office sector recorded positive net absorption in the third quarter of 2025—the first time since Q3 2021 that more office space was leased than vacated. The 21,117 square feet of net gains, reported by CoStar, may signal the beginning of a turnaround for a sector that has struggled as remote and hybrid work arrangements became entrenched across the tech-heavy region.