BOSTON-As 2013 unfolds, vacancy here is still down – 2.7 percentage points to 9.7% - and the Financial District is set to be this year's Seaport in terms of commercial real estate activity, at least according to Q1 figures from Cassidy Turley. But what is it about the Financial District that makes it so attractive? Low-rise class B space is going for $31.79 per-square-foot which is, the firm says, 71.8% less expensive than class A space in the Seaport.

Additionally, Cassidy Turley reports that overall vacancy in this neighborhood has dropped 5.2 percentage points in the past 12 months (to 10.3%). Significantly, tech companies (one of the city's hottest industries) started moving on in, and the firm anticipates that this trend will continue. 2012 saw Paypal move into One International Place and Technip settled in One Financial Center. The area as a whole is becoming more amenable to technology firms' decent as more landlords are offering up free wifi in their lobbies and some are incorporating incubator space: 100 High Street and 100 Summer Street in particular.

Over in Cambridge, Cassidy Turley notes, tech companies have staked their claims on Kendall Square, right off the city's Red Line branch of the T. This further highlights the Financial District as a solid place for these firms looking to branch out or move entirely, as this area is right off the same train. However, rents in Kendall Square and across Cambridge are on the rise due to tight conditions, mostly. The firm notes office deals are now being executed in the low $60s per-square-foot. In terms of labs in the area, built-to-suit is the major trend, with companies like Novartis and the Broad Institute using this type of space.