The Washington, DC office market currently consists of 799 buildings, over 25,000 square feet, totaling approximately 152.2 million square feet of rentable space.
Regional unemployment spiked to 9.8% in April due to the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since May however, unemployment has been decreasing steadily. As of August 2020, the unemployment rate for the District of Columbia improved to 8.5%, while the Washington, DC Metropolitan area decreased to 6.9%. The national unemployment rate decreased to 7.9%.
The DC Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) lost 201,400 jobs from August 2019-August 2020, representing a contraction of 6.0% YOY. While employment is down YOY, employment has rebounded since May with the metro area adding 106,400 net new jobs through August.
The largest public sector lease executed this quarter was a renewal by the Federal Reserve Board for 319,000 square feet at International Square.
Microsoft signed the largest private sector lease with a 57,363-square-foot transaction at 901 K Street, NW. No buildings sold in the third quarter.