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21Q2 Boston Office Market Report

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By Aaron Jodka, Director of Research | Boston & U.S. Capital Markets

The market appears to be at a turning point at midyear. With 4.1 million people fully vaccinated in the state, more workers are returning to offices. Physical occupancies remain low but are picking up with each passing week. Numerous employers are expecting their workforce back after Labor Day, suggesting that Boston will start to feel more like Boston again by the end of next quarter. Negative absorption continued, though at a much more muted level in Q2; sublease space growth is stabilizing, and recent commitments and LOIs suggest that it will start to turn in short order. Rents held quarter-over-quarter, while vacancies ended Q2 at 15.8%, a 4.9-percentage-point increase from one year ago.

The office market in Cambridge and the suburbs is growing in fits and starts, as is typical in the early stages of a recovery. Suburban vacancies ticked up by 0.7 percentage points in Q2, while they fell by 0.3 percentage points in Cambridge. Over the past year, vacancies grew by 2.4 percentage points in the suburbs and by 3.8 percentage points in Cambridge, growth in both substantially more stable than in Boston. Rents in both markets continue to hold up, increasing by 1.5% in the suburbs and by 5.1% in Cambridge over the past year. Sublease space increased this quarter, after falling in Q1.

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21Q2 Boston Office Market Report

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Aaron Jodka | Colliers | Boston

Aaron Jodka

Director, National Capital Markets Research

Boston

+1 617 330 8059
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As Director of Research | U.S. Capital Markets, Aaron is responsible for all aspects of research within the Capital Markets platform. He synthesizes and interprets a variety of data and information to stay ahead of trends that put our clients in an optimal position to make informed decisions. Aaron promotes the Colliers brand via best-in-class research reports, weekly insight posts, thought leadership, and contributions to numerous panels, media outlets, and industry events.

Aaron collaborates with every team at the firm and wears many hats: in-house economist, advisor, consultant, thought leader, strategic business analyst, presenter, and, of course, researcher. He connects with various industry experts within the Colliers organization to provide a customized solution for each client.

With a deep understanding of markets throughout the country, he provides a unique perspective on market dynamics across asset types and investment strategies, providing clients with tailored data and analytics to ultimately guide decision-making solutions.

Before joining Colliers, he spent 11 years with Property & Portfolio Research (PPR), now CoStar Portfolio Strategy. There, he advised institutional clients on their commercial real estate investment strategies across property sectors and also spoke at industry events, quarterly CoStar webinars, and in front of client audiences. Aaron also led and directed a team of economists who monitored property markets across the United States. Near the end of his tenure, he helped establish a new business unit at CoStar, leading in the hiring, training, and coaching of a team of 50 market analysts. 

Outside of the office, Aaron can be found cheering on his children at their extracurricular activities. He also enjoys hiking, travel, relaxing at home or at the lake, or plugging away at one home project or another. Last but not least, he's an avid fan of Boston sports teams.

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