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A major brokerage firm said Thursday that Portland’s office market is 鈥減oised for a soft landing.鈥�

Jones Lang LaSalle said in its third-quarter report that net absorption was only slightly negative, to the tune of a 鈥渘egligible鈥� 66,000 square feet.

Rents in the urban core slipped 0.7 percent to $39.03 per square foot on average, while vacancies grew slightly to 30.7 percent.

Office tenants are still trying to find their footing, JLL said.

鈥淢any tenants remain quite unclear on how they want to configure their space because they are still waiting for office attendance to settle into some sort of predictable pattern with hybrid work,鈥� JLL’s report stated.

Some firms are adding space after initially downsizing. Law firm Miller Nash added 6,300 square feet only six months after relocating to Eleven West, Downtown Development Group’s newly opened West End tower.

Meanwhile, Davis Wright Tremaine added nearly 5,000 square feet within six months of relocating to Block 216, JLL said.

鈥淲e are seeing more activity in the (Central Business District),鈥� said Patricia Raicht, JLL’s national director for research for the Western U.S. and Latin America.

Companies are increasing their expectations for in-office attendance, Raicht said. At the same time, many are finding the idea of shared desks wanting. Employees 鈥渁re wanting dedicated space, and you need more space for that,鈥� she said.

Major employers, including Nike and Amazon, have recently announced stepped-up office attendance policies.

Some employers are taking advantage of the downturn in office prices to buy their own. Oregon Health and Science University purchased buildings in the South Waterfront, Directors Mortgage bought buildings on Kruse Way in Lake Oswego and the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest snapped up the former Portland Opera headquarters in Southeast Portland.

鈥淲e are seeing more of that,鈥� Raicht said. 鈥淣ow is a great time to buy an office building.鈥�

Kidder Mathews‘ third-quarter report, released last week, showed similar trends. Sales volume grew 99.5 percent, compared to a year ago, to 1.8 million square feet. Rental rates fell and direct vacancy climbed to a record 13.6 percent.

U.S. Bank announced last month it would not renew its lease at the U.S. Bancorp Tower, or Big Pink. Employees will move to the bank’s office in Gresham and other locations in the Portland area, the company said.

Still others have recently taken space. Shoemaker Hoka expanded into office space in Goose Hollow early this year. In August, eBay renewed its lease on 56,645 square feet downtown.

The office market continues to be bifurcated, with attractive newer properties leasing well at the expense of older Class-B and Class-C space, analysts said.

More space is likely to come on the market as leases end and tenants downsize, brokers said.

Longtime Portland office broker Doug Bean said 鈥渟hadow space鈥� that companies are leasing but not fully using will add to vacancies.

鈥淲hen those leases roll, the square footages will be reduced, and that’ll further exacerbate the vacancy rate,鈥� Bean said. 鈥淏ut I’m an optimistic guy. I think the market’s getting better and people are getting back to work (in offices).鈥�