Palo Alto Office Market Trends

Office Rental Market

  • $85.70 2019 Avg. Asking Rent
  • 6.65 % 2019 Avg. Vacancy Rate
  • 346,415 2019 Office Completions (Sqft)
  • 466,585 2020 Estimated Pipeline (Sqft)
In 2019, the average asking rent for office space in Palo Alto was $85.70 per square foot, and the office vacancy rate across the market averaged 6.65 %. During 2019, developers added 346,415 square feet of new office space to the Palo Alto market inventory. Office developments estimated for delivery during 2020 total 466,585 square feet.

Average Office Asking Rents by Class

2019 Average Office Rent per Square Foot

  • Palo Alto Class A Office Buildings$92.71
  • Palo Alto Class B Office Buildings$72.41
  • Palo Alto Class C Office Buildings$51.47
  • CA Class A Office Buildings$51.59
  • CA Class B Office Buildings$34.34
  • CA Class C Office Buildings$22.62

Palo Alto, CA Office Asking Rents by Class

Office asking rents vary across the Palo Alto office market depending on several factors, one of which is property class. While rents for Class A office buildings in Palo Alto averaged $92.71 per square foot in 2019, Class B office properties garnered average rental rates of $72.41 per square foot. Rental rates for Class C office property in Palo Alto averaged $51.47 per square foot. On a statewide level, Class B office space rents averaged $34.34 per square foot, while rents for Class A office space across California averaged $51.59 per square foot. On average, Class C office properties in California commanded rents of $22.62 per square foot.

OFFICE CONSTRUCTION IN Palo Alto, CA

  • Palo Alto, CA Total Sqft completed in 2019 346,415
  • Palo Alto, CA Total Sqft under construction in 2020 466,585
10 Largest Office Buildings in Palo Alto
Building name Address Total Sqft Year built
3825 Fabian Way 3825 Fabian Way, 94303 652,964 1965
Stanford Research Park - 3000 Hanover Street 3000 Hanover Street, 94304 546,060 2010
Stanford Research Park - 1501 Page Mill Road 1501 Page Mill Road, 94304 521,754 1957
Stanford Research Park - 607 & 911 Hansen Way 607 Hansen Way, 94304 507,579 1957
Stanford Research Park - VMWare Briefing Center 3401 Hillview Avenue, 94304 433,000 2007
Palo Alto Center 795 El Camino Real, 94301 413,800 1947
Stanford Research Park - 3500 Deer Creek Road 3500 Deer Creek Road, 94304 350,000 1970
Stanford Research Park - Palo Alto Square 3000 El Camino Real, 94306 333,254 1972
Stanford Research Park - 3301-3307 Hillview Avenue 3301 Hillview Avenue, 94304 292,013 2002
Stanford Research Park - VMWare World Headquarters 3425 Hillview Avenue, 94304 267,595 1965
Largest Office Properties Recently Completed in Palo Alto
Office building Address Sqft Completed
3223 Hanover - Building II 3223 Hanover Street, 94304 72,662 2021
3223 Hanover - Building I 3223 Hanover Street, 94304 119,700 2020
Stanford Research Park - 3380 Coyote Hill Road 3380 Coyote Hill Road, 94304 85,420 2020
Stanford Research Park - Building 1 1000 Page Mill Road, 94304 82,662 2020
Stanford Research Park - Building 4 1250 Page Mill Road, 94304 72,812 2020
2600 El Camino Real 2600 El Camino Real, 94306 62,616 2020
Stanford Biomedical Innovation Building 240 Pasteur Drive, 94304 215,500 2019
3181 Porter Drive 3181 Porter Drive, 94304 99,415 2019
3045 Park Blvd 3045 Park Blvd, 94306 31,500 2019
Stanford Research Park - 3170 Porter Drive 3170 Porter Drive, 94304 96,626 2018
Data provided by Commercial Edge

Office Spaces for Rent in California

PALO ALTO OFFICE SALES TRENDS

  • $616.492019 Avg. Price per Sqft
  • -37.45 %Y-o-Y Avg. PpSF Change
  • $686.3M2019 Office Sales Volume
  • 52019 Number of Transactions

In 2019, office sales in Palo Alto averaged $616.49 per square foot. This marked a -37.45 % decrease in office price per square foot, compared to the previous year. A total of 5 office sales closed on the Palo Alto office market in 2019, amounting to a total sales volume of $686.3M.

Average Office Sale Price per Sqft

Palo Alto, CA Sales Trends

  • Palo Alto Price per Sqft$616.49
  • California Price per Sqft$437.86

Office Sales - Trend and Volume

  • Palo Alto, CA Total Office Sales Volume in 2019 $686.3M
  • Palo Alto, CA Total Number of Office Sales Closed in 2019 5

Largest Palo Alto Office Sales in 2019

Property name Address Date Price
Palo Alto Technology Center 1800 Embarcadero Road 7/25/2019 $205,000,000
Stanford Research Park - 3170 Porter Drive 3170 Porter Drive 1/10/2019 $100,250,000
Stanford Research Park - 3420-3440 Hillview Avenue 3420 Hillview Avenue 9/24/2019 $64,000,000
Stanford Research Park - 3160 Porter Drive 3160 Porter Drive 8/12/2019 $26,000,000
Data provided by Commercial Edge

See trends for nearby markets

The Palo Alto office market contains an inventory of 13,628,520 square feet of office space, in 227 buildings that are equal to or larger than 25,000 square feet.

This market trends report is based on analysis of city-level data. Averages were calculated based on values dated January 1st 2019 through December 31st 2019. Construction pipeline data shown is valid as of April 2020. The information on this page was compiled using data provided by our sister company, CommercialEdge – a market intelligence solution which offers comprehensive knowledge on all Palo Alto commercial properties sized 25,000 square feet or larger.

While every effort was made to ensure the accuracy of the data presented in this report, the information is provided “as is” and neither CommercialCafe nor CommercialEdge can guarantee that the information provided is complete.