Availability rises back to early-2021 levels, while demand falls and supply continues to increase

In Q4 2022, the total availability rate in the Boston office market increased to 17.0%. This was an increase of 60 basis points (bps) from 16.4% reported in Q3 2022 and an increase of 100 bps from 16.0% reported a year ago. After decreasing for five straight quarters from a peak of 17.4% in Q1 2021, availability levels began increasing again starting in Q2 2022. As a result, office availability has clearly ended the year in a very different spot than how it started, with the current overall availability rate now 370 bps above pre-pandemic availability of just 13.3%. There is currently 10.1 million square feet (msf) of sublease space available,an increase of 2% from last quarter and up 31% from 7.7 msf reported a year ago. Sublease space now accounts for 23% of all available space in the Boston office market as companies in the technology sector seek to cut costs. With more new buildings expected to deliver in coming quarters and many occupiers opting to either downsize space in their current buildings or move to higher-quality buildings in a smaller footprint, expect plentiful options and tenant-favorable conditions going into 2023.

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