For the second year in a row, Cambridge, MA has claimed the top spot as the nation’s most expensive submarket for office space with an average price per square foot of more than $1,800, finds a new report by PropertyShark. In addition 2022’s average is 16% higher than 2021’s average of $1,560.

In recent years, life science hubs — with Boston at the forefront — dislodged traditional finance and tech hubs as the nation’s most expensive destinations for office space. According to PropertyShark, demand for life sciences in the past year stayed strong.

This year’s tally for Cambridge was the result of just three sales:

*The recapitalization of the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square that was recapitalized for more than $1 billion resulted in a price per square foot of $2,364, the highest per-square-foot price of all properties sold last year. Alexandria Real Estate Equities sold a stake in the trophy office and laboratory building to a joint venture involving CBRE and an unspecified institutional investor.

*The property at 125 Broadway was purchased by Boston Properties for $600 million, or $2,225 per square foot, in a bid to expand the company’s already-strong presence in the Kendall Square neighborhood that’s also home to the Alexandria Center and some of the most high-demand Boston office space as things stand.

*A mixed-use building containing office and retail space situated at 1 Brattle Square sold for $78 million, equating to a price per square foot of $822 and tempering the submarket’s average price.

Boston’s CBD — which ranked fourth last year — did not make the list this year after recording only one sale in 2022.

Read the full report