Inland Empire's CBD Office Market Maintains Relative Strength

SPOKANE, WA-Strength lies in numbers. But it’s not always the one that measures the largest that is the strongest. Spokane, the centerpiece of Washington’s Inland Empire, has a much smaller office market than its big-city counterpart of Seattle, but its occupancy is higher–at least for now.

According to statistics recently gathered by the real estate analysis and appraisal firm of Auble, Jolicoeur & Gentry, class A space in downtown Spokane measures 906,891 sf. As of October its vacancy was running 8.37%. In contrast, class A space in downtown Seattle was vacant to the tune of 10.79% as of the end of the third quarter. Spokane’s October overall average office vacancy– including A, B and C properties — worked out to 11.46%. Seattle’s was 13%.

Spokane rents are, of course, lower than the averages in downtown Seattle—where third quarter reports calculated Class A spaces averaging rents at $34.25/sf. Here Class A space is fetching $18.38/sf, with the most recent deal rolling out at $19.72/sf.