Vacancy rates are increasing in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. A global real estate firm tells NBC Bay Area the vacancies in Silicon Valley are related to the popularity of working from home.
The vacancy rate hit 31.8% in the second quarter of 2023, according to recently released preliminary data from CBRE, a new record high for the city. The rate was 29.4% in the first quarter of the year, up from 27.6% in the fourth quarter of 2022 — and far surpassing the previous pre-pandemic high of 19.1% during the dotcom bust in 2003.
The districts that have been hit the hardest by businesses leaving and have the emptiest office space, as reported by CBRE and NBC, are Yerba Buena (with a 54.5 percent vacancy rate), the South of Market (with a 42.5 percent vacancy rate), and South of Market West (with a 38 percent vacancy rate.)