Downtown Boston Office Figures Q2 2026

The Downtown Boston office market showed high absorption and declining availability to end the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year. Net absorption was 803,879 sq. ft. in Q2 2026, and leasing velocity decreased by 54,489 sq. ft. quarter-over-quarter to 1.13 million sq. ft. leased. Tenant demand sat at 4.3 million sq. ft. in Q2 2026, roughly flat from the Q1 2026 total and 369,000 sq. ft. higher than the Q2 2025 total.

Both absorption and leasing velocity surpassed the totals in Q2 2025 when net absorption was -143,900 sq. ft. and leasing velocity was 932,004 sq. ft. Additionally, from Q2 2025 to Q2 2026, vacancy decreased from 19.1% to 18.7%, a 40-basis point (bps) decline. Average asking rents also increased by $0.43 per sq. ft. year-over-year from $65.89 per sq. ft. to $66.32 per sq. ft. in Q2 2026. At the same time, the construction pipeline has been curtailed, with space under construction dropping from 5.0 million sq. ft. in Q1 2022 to no new construction in Q2 2026, following a wave of deliveries in Q1 2026.