Route 495 Commercial Real Estate Market: Rising Rents & Declining Vacancy Despite Growing Pains

According to the recent market report released by Cresa Boston, the Route 495 commercial real estate market remains strong amidst initial "growing pains."

Report Highlights

• Asking rents for high-quality office buildings have increased 8-10% in markets such as Concord and Boxborough. Overall asking rent in the office market has increased to $18.10 per SF at the end of Q4 2015, with little variations between submarkets. For Class A properties, 495 North had the highest asking rent at $21.50 per SF, 495 Metro West recorded $20.00 per SF, and 495 Central had the lowest asking rent at $17.75 per SF.
  
  
• Route 495 Cresa market expert Dave Ross predicts that Class A rent in 495 North will increase by 5 to 10 percent in 2016 while Class B will remain flat.

• The average vacancy rate saw a steep decline in the second half of 2015, dropping from 34 percent in Q2 to 29.7 percent in Q4. Again, there was little variation between submarkets. For the office market, 495 Metro West had the most availability with a vacancy rate of 22.8 percent, then 495 Central at 22.1 percent, and 495 North at 22.0 percent.
  
  
• Small- to mid-size companies are paying a rent premium of 5 to 10 percent for buildings that offer amenities like full-service cafeterias, fitness centers, and conference facilities.

• Growing organizations are increasingly looking for adequate parking, which consists of three-to-four spaces per 1,000 SF leased.
  
  
• New developments along Route 495, including new housing, auto dealerships, supermarkets, lodging, and corporate office space, have resulted in new traffic problems. To address this, towns and regional planners are making significant road and highway improvements and planning future improvements.

The full Route 495 market report can be viewed here.

Cresa LLC, North America’s largest corporate real estate advisory firm exclusively representing tenants, is headquartered in Boston.

Cresa is the world’s largest tenant-only commercial real estate firm. In representing tenants exclusively—no landlords, no developers—Cresa provides unbiased, conflict-free advice. Integrated services cover every aspect of a real estate transaction from site selection and financing to project management and relocation services. Cresa offers clients customized solutions with more than 60 offices in 75 markets worldwide. For more information, visit www.cresa.com.