Rents for Boston’s top-tier high-rise offices reached $105.02 per square foot in the third quarter, a two-year high. Meanwhile, average asking rents across Greater Boston fell to $66.49 per square foot, down from $66.79 a year earlier.
Law firms signed 10 of the quarter’s major leases, helping drive demand for premium buildings, according to Bisnow.
Back Bay Rents Near $130 Per Square Foot
Back Bay asking rents approached $130 per square foot, about 15% above pre-pandemic levels. Downtown Boston ranked second, reaching $110 per square foot in the second quarter of 2026.
Greenberg Traurig leased 82,000 square feet at South Station Tower, while Paul Hastings signed for 52,000 square feet at the Prudential Center. Engineering consulting firm HNTB leased 77,000 square feet at Winthrop Center.
Newer Buildings Have Limited Available Space
Availability in Tier 1 high-rise buildings fell to 3.2% by the end of the third quarter. Availability reached 12.9% for Tier 1 mid-rise buildings and 5.8% for low-rise properties.
Overall Class A rents fell from $76.16 per square foot in 2025 to $74.84 in 2026.
Boston has no new office buildings in its construction pipeline. JLL Research Manager Bryan Montgomery said construction is unlikely to begin before the end of the decade because rents remain too low to support development costs. Significant rent growth would be needed to make projects viable around 2030 to 2032.
