According to a report by Cushman & Wakefield, the Greater Boston office market experienced a record high vacancy rate of 17.0% at the end of 2024, representing an increase of 310 basis points from the previous year. This was a steeper rise than the 250-bps increase seen in 2023. Class A properties were hit particularly hard with a vacancy rate increase of370 basis points, while Class B saw an increase of only230 bps.
In terms of transaction activity, renewals dominated in 2024 with nearly4.3 million square feet completed – accounting for46.1%of all deals made that year.This is significantly higher than last year’s shareof24.4%. However,new leasing activity was subdued and fell shortby1.2 million square feet compared to2019,totaling5.lmillion square feet.
Riley McMullan,senior research manager,stated,”The current stateoftheoffice market reflectsa shift towards stability as renewals take precedence.Tenants are prioritizing highly amenitized assets and prime locations as they adaptto changing workplace strategies.”
