Office Market Availability Rate Hits Record High in San Francisco

Much of the issue, experts say, is the city’s reliance on the tech industry, with more than 44 percent of its office space housing technology companies.

Pedestrians walk by an empty retail space in San Francisco on May 9, 2023. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

A confluence of factors continues to impact San Francisco’s office market, with vacancy and availability rates reaching record highs in the first quarter of 2024, according to commercial real estate analysts at global companies Avison Young and CBRE.

Availability—the combination of vacancy and sublease opportunities in the market—reached 36.7 percent of all office square footage from January to April, according to recently released market analyses from the leading commercial real estate firms.