During the height of COVID-19 restrictions in Boston, sublease space flooded the downtown Boston office market in mid-2020. But space has started to recover since the beginning of 2021, according to CBRE, ending the month of July at 3.2 million square feet.

CBRE attributes the decrease in sublease space to a few factors, including sublease space expiring and going direct, sublease space being leased and tenants deciding to pull their sublease space off the market with plans to reoccupy once they return to the office. Through the first seven months of this year, over 500,000 square feet of sublease space has been removed due to leases being signed and at least another 200,000 square feet has been withdrawn by tenants to reoccupy.

“Tenants are returning to the downtown market with more than 4.1 million square feet of active demand and an additional 478,000 square feet on hold for space needed by the end of 2024,” reports CBRE “Increased tours and commitments are the new norm for sublease space across the city. Tenants in the market are paying attention to the less expensive, high quality sublease space on the market, as direct asking rents have not seen a sharp decrease since the pandemic struck.