Report: Boston Office Vacancy Near All-Time Low

Limited supply for large users and rapidly climbing rents are two continuing trends in Boston’s office market, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s recently released second quarter market research.

Office vacancy currently sits at 4.9% in Boston, only 20 basis points higher than the all-time low of 4.7% in 2000. Correspondingly, rents have reached near all-time highs. At the midway point of the year, absorption has totaled just under 600,000 square feet.

In Cambridge, overall lab vacancy sits at just 0.8%. Significant leases in the second quarter there include Google’s commitment to 150,000 square feet of space formerly occupied by Akamai at 8 Cambridge Center, and FogPharma’s 125,000 square-foot lease at 400-500 Cambridge Discovery Park.

The expansion of coworking also continues to be a hot-button topic in Boston. In the first quarter, coworking company WeWork leased 240,000 square feet at One Lincoln Street. This quarter, the company is close to leasing 100,000 square feet at a prominent downtown building near South Station, according to Cushman & Wakefield. The firm may also be committing to 200,000 square feet of new construction, which would bring the coworking company’s footprint in Boston to more than 1.5 million square feet.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact David Cohen