Commercial real estate brokers worry about Seattle buildings

The Seattle Times reports:

After climbing for years, are office lease rates in downtown Seattle getting ready to turn south?

Some commercial real-estate professionals think so. Consider this:

More than 2 million square feet of new office space — the equivalent of 1 ½ Columbia Centers — will come on the market in greater downtown next year. Almost none of it is pre-leased.

On top of that, there's the possibility — many say the likelihood — that downtown bastions Washington Mutual and Safeco could vacate some of the 1 million-plus square feet they collectively occupy.