Area Rents Dropped Across the Board: Report

BOSTON-A semiannual report released by Spaulding & Slye Colliers, a commercial real estate services company here and in Washington, DC, indicates that rents have dropped here, in Cambridge and in the suburban market.

Average direct rents fell from $62.11 to $59.56 according to Bob Kasvinsky, vice president of research at Spaulding & Slye. For class A office space the decline was a sharper 15%, to $64.25. Total availability–which includes space for rent on the market as well as sublease space–was at 9 % in this area for midyear 2001. But Kasvinsky tells GlobeSt.com that these rents are still “higher than in 1999. The availabilities in the Downtown Boston market are still not nearly what they were 10 years ago. This creates a more balanced market for tenants.”

Kasvinsky notes that there are still not many leasing opportunities in the city. “The availability of space in Boston is not very significant,” he says. State Street Corp.’s recent lease of One Lincoln Street is an indication that companies requiring large amounts of space still need to plan nearly two years in advance.