Office vacancies in San Fransisco hit an all-time record in the third quarter, the latest consequence of businesses fleeing the city as it struggles with homelessness and crime.
The city's office market hit a record 33.9 percent vacancy rate, according to data from the real estate company CBRE reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. Almost 30 million square feet is listed for lease or sublease in the city.
The scale of San Francisco's real estate crisis is unique to the city, the Chronicle reported:
No other U.S. city or region has seen such a severe jump in vacancy rates during the pandemic, CBRE said. Silicon Valley’s vacancy rate was just under 19% in the third quarter. (Other real estate brokerages, which use different methodologies, have reported lower vacancy rates for San Francisco, but all are around 30%.)
It's the latest bad news for the California city. Google plans to pull a tech conference out of the city next year. The Bay Area now has a problem with pirate attacks. Many companies have fled the city amid soaring crime and rampant homelessness.
Homicides in San Francisco have increased nearly 40 percent from 2020 to 2022, and deaths from fentanyl have spiked.