Office Rents Continue to Plunge in Bay Area

Office rents fell by as much as 25% in the San Francisco Bay Area in the fourth quarter, as companies shed space to cut costs, according to data from broker Cushman & Wakefield.

In downtown San Francisco, rents fell about 25% from the third quarter to $36.48 a square foot, after falling 20% in the previous quarter. In the Silicon Valley, rents dropped 20% for high-tech space to $24 a square foot, according to Cushman’s preliminary numbers.

With the economy in its first recession in a decade and a 22% drop in the Nasdaq composite index in the last year, rents in the Bay Area are half what they were in 2000.

But brokers said they have seen more interest lately from potential tenants.