The market for small space under 5,000 SF is very tight. Our local small businesses are all back in the office and finding this type of space is very hard. But for larger spaces, those over 10,000 SF, we have seen an interesting development. Since late 2020, over 500,000 SF of office space has hit the market either as sublease space or direct space given back to landlords as a result of work from home. At the same time, we have absorbed over 500,000 SF of office space, largely in the newer Class A downtown and suburban office buildings. As is the case nationally, Boise is seeing a ‘flight to quality’ in office space. Companies really want to provide a high-quality modern workplace for their team and will step up to pay for it as well. Given this trend and the recent leasing activity, it is my predication we will shortly run out of this quality space but have a glut of “B” back office space in the suburbs. Lenders aren’t excited about loaning money for speculative office development and so don’t expect to see much Class A office come out of the ground in the next year or two. So, depending upon what you are looking for, finding office space will be very easy or very hard in the coming years.
