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Happy Days Again? A Report from the Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate Market

By
Commercial Real Estate Agent with GILES COMMERCIAL REALTY GROUP

Happy Days Again?  Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate 

Boston Financial District Waterfront 

So, what is the Boston office space commercial real estate market REALLY like today? 

Well honestly, ..., it depends What and Where you are.

 

If you are an Owner/Landlord of Lab space in Cambridge, then you've hardly skipped a beat and are enjoying low vacancy and high rent levels. On the other hand, if you're an owner of office properties in certain suburban Boston locations, you are praying for tenants to fall from the sky.

 

The Haves and Have-nots of Commercial Real Estate

 

Overall, Greater Boston has weathered the storm of this last recession reasonably well, especially when compared to some other markets around the country, such as Phoenix, or Detroit (ouch!).

 

Weatherbeater

 

Top 5In fact, in a recent survey by a leading national commercial real estate research firm, Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate was ranked as one of the top 5 healthiest major metros in the country. This makes sense, considering the diverse nature of the local economy lead by financial services, hospitals/healthcare, higher education, leading edge technology and the biotech/pharma industry.

 

Nationally and in Boston, the property Sale markets (both to Investors and End-Users) for commercial property of all classes was on life support from late 2008 to early 2010. This was of course partly due to the financing markets being almost non-existent. But over the first six months of 2010, there has been a marked increase in activity in select markets across the country and Boston is one of them.

 

Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate is attractive to investors because it has not experienced the same drastic drop in values and level of distress that many other areas of the country have (the yo-yo effect) and because the area remains popular with  foreign investment capital. Couple that with all the domestic money that's been sitting on the sidelines and the result can be intense competition any time that a high quality, stabilized asset becomes available in our local market.

 

However, as rosy as all that sounds, the Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate market does have some battle wounds. Lease rates dropped 10% to 30% from late 2008 to early 2010, depending upon the particular submarket and property type, even more in some tertiary markets. Cambridge was and is the strongest local submarket, only experiencing mild fluxuations in vacancy and rent decline, propped up by its steady draw for Biotech and Pharma companies.

 

Where does the Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate Market go from here? ...

Market Report

 

If you would like to learn more about Boston Office Space Commercial Real Estate, or, discuss your company's real estate position, or just ask a question about Boston, please contact me. I look forward to speaking with you soon!

BostonOfficeSearch.com

Mike Giles, Principal

mike(at)gilescommercial.com

 

OfficeTenantAdvisors.com (GILES COMMERCIAL REALTY GROUP) provides Specialized expertise, advisory and advocacy services exclusively to companies that Lease, Purchase, or Own commercial real estate to house their business operations. By developing and executing strategies that align our clients' real estate position with their business plan, we Save our clients Time, Money and Frustration. Services include acquisitions by Lease or Purchase, extensions/renewals/renegotiations, planning, research, analysis, site selection, negotiation, relocation coordination, ongoing administration, disposition, etc. Acquisition services are typically rendered at no cost to client as leasing and sale fees are customarily paid by landlords and sellers. Principal Michael R. Giles has provided solution-driven services with exceptional results to clients ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies for over 23 years throughout Eastern Massachusetts.