Office vacancies are down slightly in the suburbs, but nearly 24 million square feet of direct available space is still available, according to Colliers International.
Thomas Grillo
Real Estate Editor- Boston Business Journal
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The vacancy rate in Greater Boston’s suburban office market fell slightly in the first quarter, but there’s still 24 million square feet of direct available space — the equivalent of 14 empty John Hancock towers.
A report from Colliers International found that the suburban vacancy rate dropped to 20 percent in the first quarter, from 21 percent one year ago. Of the nine suburban markets from Route 128/Massachusetts Turnpike to Worcester, seven saw office vacancies drop. The Route 495 south and west markets performed the best as did the inner suburbs.
The vacancy rate for 495 south fell to 20.8 percent in the first quarter, down from 24.1 percent for the same period last year. In the Route 495 west corridor, vacancies dropped to 26.4 percent from 30.6 percent a year ago. The inner suburbs had an 11.7 percent vacancy rate, down from 15.7 percent a year ago.
On the flip side, Worcester had the biggest jump in available space with a 19.3 vacancy rate, up from 16.9 percent in the first quarter of last year. Route 495 north also saw its vacancy rate rise to 23.8 percent from 22.8 a year ago.
Despite an absorption of 188,988 square feet in the suburbs, four submarkets including Route 128 South, Route 495 North, West and South had vacancies in excess of 20 percent. Four submarkets experienced a vacancy rate over 15 percent including Worcester, Route 128/Massachusetts Turnpike, Route 128/Northwest and Route 128 North. None of the suburban markets had single digit vacancies.
Rents remained flat in the first quarter with average asking rents at about $18 per square foot in the 495 belt, at $22 in Route 128 South, $25 in Route 128 Northwest and Burlington, and about $31 in Route 128/Massachusetts Turnpike and Waltham .
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