Portland OR Class A office asking rent in Q1 2026 is $31.40/SF/yr, with vacancy at 27.8% per JLL Portland Q1 2026. Free rent on a 60-month Class A deal is running 9 to 14 months downtown; TI allowance $60 to $80/SF; blended NNN/CAM $8 to $11/SF.
TL;DR
Portland downtown is the softest major West Coast secondary market, vacancy 27.8%. Concession packages are real but landlord financial health needs verification before signing long-term in older Class B/C buildings.
Portland OR Class A office market data (Q1 2026)
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Class A asking rent | $31.40/SF/yr | JLL Portland Q1 2026 |
| Vacancy | 27.8% | JLL Portland Q1 2026 |
| Free rent (60-month deal) | 9 to 14 months downtown | JLL Portland Q1 2026 |
| TI allowance (Class A, 5-year) | $60 to $80/SF | JLL Portland Q1 2026 |
| NNN/CAM blended | $8 to $11/SF | JLL Portland Q1 2026 |
Portland OR submarkets
Top submarkets and pricing:
- Submarkets: Downtown, Pearl District, Lloyd District, Beaverton/Lake Oswego (suburban)
- Submarket pricing: Pearl District $34-$40, Downtown $28-$34, Lloyd $26-$30, suburban $24-$28
- Tightness leader: Downtown typically commands the highest rent and lowest vacancy in Portland OR
Submarket-specific pricing per JLL Portland Q1 2026 and per-submarket field reports.
How to use this data
For your specific deal:
- Use our pillar TCO calculator with
metro:portlandand your specific RSF, term, and property type. - Compare your proposed deal to the asking rent above; the asking-vs-effective spread in soft markets can be 15 to 25%.
- Benchmark concessions: free rent and TI in the table above are market medians. Your deal should be within range.
- Push on negotiation levers via our AI Negotiation Coach.
Property type rent ratios (vs Class A office, applies to Portland OR)
- Office Class B: ~78% of Class A
- Retail storefront: ~115% (premium for traffic-driven submarkets)
- Restaurant/QSR: ~132% (grease/hood/gas premium)
- Industrial / warehouse: ~42%
Apply ratios to the Class A asking rent above for rough property-type estimates. For precise property-type rent, see Commercial lease cost per square foot metro index.
Portland OR submarket pricing detail (Q1 2026)
| Submarket | Class A asking $/SF | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pearl District | $34 to $40 | Creative office |
| Downtown | $28 to $34 | Soft 28% vacancy |
| Lloyd District | $26 to $30 | Older Class B |
| Suburban | $24 to $28 | Beaverton/Lake Oswego |
Source: JLL Portland Q1 2026 with submarket-level estimates.
What to negotiate in Portland OR in 2026
Five lever priorities for Portland OR tenants:
- Free rent: target 9 to 14 months downtown on a 60-month Class A deal based on JLL Portland Q1 2026 concession data.
- TI allowance: target $60 to $80/SF for Class A 5-year deals.
- Annual escalation cap: 3% fixed is the market default per CBRE Q1 2026 Lease Tracker. CPI-tied requires both 5% cap and 2% floor.
- Operating expense audit rights: 60 to 90 day window. NNN/CAM in Portland OR runs $8 to $11/SF blended; protect against escalation surprise.
- Personal guaranty downgrade to good-guy clause: founders should always negotiate this regardless of metro.
Portland OR-specific tenant considerations
Portland downtown is the softest major West Coast secondary market at 27.8% vacancy. Concession packages are real but landlord financial health needs verification before signing long-term in older Class B/C buildings. Suburban Portland (Beaverton, Lake Oswego) is healthier at ~18% vacancy. Oregon's 9.9% top state income tax is high; factor into senior hiring math.
Who should lease in Portland OR in 2026
For deal-specific analysis: use our pillar TCO calculator with metro:portland and your specific RSF, term, and property type. The calculator handles all 13 inputs including per-metro NNN/CAM and submarket-specific TI defaults.
For Portland OR tenants signing first commercial leases or considering 5+ year terms, engage a tenant rep broker (free to tenant; paid by landlord). For deals over 5,000 SF, the broker typically pays for themselves through better deal economics, especially in this market.
Cross-asset rent benchmarks for Portland OR
Property type rent ratios applied to Portland OR Class A asking rent of $31.4/SF:
- Office Class B: ~78% = $24.49/SF
- Retail storefront: ~115% = $36.11/SF
- Restaurant/QSR: ~132% = $41.45/SF
- Industrial / warehouse: ~42% = $13.19/SF
Property-type ratios per Cushman & Wakefield US cross-asset Marketbeat 2026. For metro-level industrial benchmarks, see Prologis Industrial Index Q1 2026.
How Portland OR compares to peer metros
When evaluating Portland OR against peer metros for a 5-year Class A office lease, three comparisons matter:
- Effective rent vs asking: in Portland OR Q1 2026, the asking-vs-effective spread depends on submarket vacancy. Tighter submarkets (under 18% vacancy) hold value; softer submarkets (above 22% vacancy) deliver materially better effective rent.
- Total cost of occupancy: load NNN/CAM, escalations, and broker commission into the all-in number. Portland OR's blended TCO loading factor is in the 28 to 35% range typical of major US metros per the CBRE Total Cost of Occupancy framework.
- Workforce concentration: pull BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages data for your specific industry's employment in the Portland OR MSA. Cheap rent in a market without your sector's talent pool is a hiring trap.
For metro-by-metro comparison: Commercial lease cost per square foot metro index.
When to engage a tenant rep broker for a Portland OR deal
For Portland OR deals over 1,000 SF, engage a tenant rep broker. The broker is paid by the landlord (4 to 6% of gross rent over the term per CCIM fee guide), making representation effectively free to the tenant. Self-rep tenants don't capture the saved commission; landlords or listing brokers retain it as margin.
For Portland OR specifically, prioritize brokers with submarket experience in your specific area of the metro. Generalist city-wide brokers can miss submarket-specific dynamics that drive deal economics.
For broker selection: Top commercial tenant rep brokers 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Is downtown Portland recovering?
Slowly. Combination of remote-work shift, central-city safety perception, and corporate retraction kept Class A vacancy near 28%. Suburban Portland (Beaverton, Lake Oswego) is healthier at ~18% vacancy.
Are Portland concessions actually deliverable?
Yes, landlords are paying out 9 to 14 months free + $60 to $80 PSF TI on 5-year deals downtown. The risk is post-lease execution: confirm landlord financial health before signing a long-term lease, especially in older Class B buildings.
What's the standard tenant-rep broker commission in Portland OR?
4 to 6% of gross rent over the lease term, paid by the landlord (not the tenant). Tenant-side representation in Portland OR is essentially free to the tenant in standard markets, always engage one for any deal over 1,000 SF.
Related guides
- Pillar: all-in commercial lease cost calculator
- Commercial lease cost per square foot metro index
- Commercial lease negotiation tips and AI coach
- NNN lease calculator
Sources
- JLL Portland Q1 2026 accessed 2026-05-02
- CommercialEdge Q1 2026 Office Report accessed 2026-05-02
- BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics accessed 2026-05-02
Not financial or legal advice. Estimates based on publicly available market data and broker reports. Commercial real-estate is highly local and deal-specific. Consult a licensed commercial real-estate broker and a real-estate attorney before signing any lease.
This is a syndicated post. Original article + interactive calculator: https://commercialleasecost.com/portland/
