Sean Bartley

The vacancy number is real — 37%, worst in the country. But the framing is doing a lot of work here.

This started climbing in 2020, driven by tech layoffs and remote work, after downtown added the equivalent of 18 U.S. Bank Centers of office space during the 2012-2022 boom. That’s a supply-and-demand collapse, not a “Seattle policy” story.

And the income tax everyone’s blaming? It doesn’t even take effect until 2028. It cannot explain a vacancy rate that’s already been climbing for six years.

Even Bellevue — no city income tax, no “Seattle policies” — is seeing vacancy rise too. This is a regional tech correction. Blaming it on taxes that haven’t started yet isn’t analysis, it’s a talking point.

Seattle office vacancy rate climbs to 37% as experts fear ‘zombie buildings’

Over the past year, several major employers have announced expansions outside Washington while reducing their footprint in the Puget Sound region.

https://www.kvi.com/2026/07/07/seattle-office-vacancy-rate-climbs-to-37-as-experts-fear-zombie-buildings/