Boston MA Greater Boston’s office market, which had a slow start to the year, closed the second quarter in positive territory, according to Transwestern | RBJ’s new “officeSTATus – Q2 2016” report. The market had 12.7% vacancy on 209,000 s/f of positive absorption, while the average asking lease rate increased 55 cents to $42.50 per s/f, a new high since 2002.

2Q16 officeSTATus-Trendlines

“It’s a very good thing to see the market pick up quarter-over-quarter, but we’ll be more interested to look at the results over the course of a year or even longer,” said Northeast research director Chase Bourdelaise. “That frame of reference provides a more accurate view of the market and puts the relatively slow first quarter into better perspective. We anticipate the positive results to continue, based on the construction pipeline and a few large leases likely to commence soon.”

Highlights from the report include:

• At 12.7 %, the market-wide vacancy rate has remained under 13% for seven consecutive quarters.

• Vacancy in Boston’s Central Business District rose by 0.6 percentage points to 9.7%, while class A asking lease rates held steady at $54.49 per s/f.

• Average class A asking lease rates in the Seaport District hit the highest recorded level at $57.44 per s/f.

• In Cambridge, 37,000 s/f of positive absorption pushed vacancy down to 3.2%.

• Class A average asking lease rates in Cambridge are $62.94 per s/f and hit the low $80s in East Cambridge, while the 2 million s/f Mid-Cambridge market has only 3,000 s/f of office vacancy.

• In the suburbs, vacancy and average asking lease rates remained steady at 13% and $30.80 per s/f along Rte. 128 and 21.8% and $21.26 per s/f along I-495.

• The 1.6 million s/f under construction in Rte. 128 West is the highest amount in that market since 1998.

2Q16 officeSTATus-Boston Absorption

In addition to “officeSTATus,” Transwestern | RBJ publishes 10 other quarterly research reports: “indSTATus,” which focuses on manufacturing, warehouse and flex property types, and individual “marketSTATus” reports on nine crucial submarkets. The firm’s biotechnology-focused report, “bioSTATus,” is released twice a year. In total, the firm produces 46 reports per year, in addition to custom research projects for clients.

Transwestern is a privately held real estate firm of collaborative entrepreneurs who deliver a higher level of personalized service – the Transwestern Experience. Specializing in agency leasing, management, tenant advisory, capital markets, research and sustainability services, their fully integrated global enterprise adds value for investors, owners and occupiers of all commercial property types. They leverage market insights and operational expertise from members of the Transwestern family of companies specializing in development, real estate investment management and research. Transwestern has 34 U.S. offices and assists clients through more than 180 offices in 37 countries as part of a strategic alliance with BNP Paribas Real Estate.