Seattle-Tacoma Retail Market Report

Eastside locales stand out. Entering April, availability in the Puget Sound was lower than all other major U.S. markets, sitting at 2.8 percent. The rate has remained relatively steady since 2019, with retail demand underpinned by strong population growth and one of the nation's highest median household incomes. Leasing activity is widespread, with four of the metro's five submarkets recording over 150,000 square feet of net absorption during the past year ending in March. Space demand is strongest on the Eastside, where local vacancy was 1.7 percent as of March, pushing asking rents up to $30.97 per square foot, 30 percent above the market average. Major expansions in the area by notable employers like Amazon, Microsoft, Google, Apple and Facebook have retailers eager to expand in this submarket, and demand here will likely be sustained long term.