Office

— By Jessica Ramey, Executive Vice President and Co-Lead for Agency Leasing, and Patricia Raicht, Head of Research for U.S. West and Latin America, JLL — Portland’s office sector is a tale of market cycles, with many signs trending in positive directions. Leasing continues to strengthen, tenants are taking space for longer terms and certain sectors are performing better than others. All of this provides opportunities for those able to execute on them. Portland’s suburban market is second best in the U.S. with a 13 percent vacancy that is significantly below the U.S. average of 21.9 percent. By contrast, the urban market recently tied with Phoenix for the fifth-highest vacancy nationally. Vacancy had been increasing in downtown Portland, but the rate of negative absorption is starting to moderate. JLL anticipates the numbers will turn positive in 2025. Urban/Downtown Market Green-Shoots Rising The revitalization of downtown is making significant progress thanks to efforts by both local government and private-sector groups. As such, the migration of tenants out of the urban core has largely subsided. Nevertheless, as corporations begin to evaluate their space needs and location options, they remain concerned about safety and parking. Many are also increasingly looking at public transit and area amenities …