Boston Life Science Tenancies Drop in Q1 – CBRE Analysis

The Greater Boston life sciences lab space market returned to a normal pace in Q1 2023, according to CBRE’s recent report, with leasing activity exceeding last quarter’s totals and resulting in slightly positive absorption. However, the demand side of the market has seen a sharp slowdown from 2022 peak due to difficult fundraising conditions and record-high construction pricing. Available sublease space surpassed 1.6 million square feet, reaching a new 20-year high; however, the sublease availability rate remained flat at 2.8%. Despite this slowdown, over 700 thousand square feet of new R&D space was delivered to the market during Q1 while another two million broke ground – pushing active construction pipeline total for Greater Boston up 16.4 million square feet by end of 2026.