Leasing Depth Expands Beyond Headline Deals Q2 2026

The Eastside office market extended its gradual recovery in Q2 2026, with entire Eastside vacancy improving to 21.2% on 278,846 SF of positive absorption. A healthy cadence of small and mid-sized deals, punctuated by headline transactions from Uber, Kiln, Nscale, and Banner Bank, drove nearly twenty full-floor-or-larger transactions downtown this year and removed 24 floors from Broderick Group’s full-floor availability study. Suburban submarkets remain bifurcated, though cornerstone occupiers like Google in Kirkland, T-Mobile along I-90, and Microsoft in Redmond, continue anchoring baseline demand.

The bigger story lies ahead: signed and pending demand now positions YE 2027 net absorption in the Bellevue CBD to exceed 800,000 SF, more than double the trailing 10-year average, and, uniquely, this pipeline reflects broad-based demand rather than a single occupier. AI is the most compelling near-term catalyst, with Seattle ranked as the #2 AI development cluster in the U.S. and Downtown Bellevue emerging as a significant landing point for high-credit growth tenants. Capital markets are warming in parallel, with active processes at West Main, Offices at Riverpark, and The Bravern signaling that the recovery is being defined by consistent leasing velocity and incremental absorption, not isolated blockbusters.