Supply & Construction: A Boost In New Deliveries
Vacancy across Greater Boston’s industrial market rose 50 basis points (bps) quarter-over-quarter (QOQ) to 12.4%, driven largely by the delivery of new speculative product[CD1.1], with warehouse/distribution product recording a more modest 20-bps uptick over the same period. Despite the increase in the overall market, vacancy held steady or improved in six of the region’s 11 submarkets. While direct net absorption remained negative market-wide, the North market posted 66,500 square feet (sf) of net occupancy gains and accounted for three of the quarter’s five largest move-ins.
More than 1.4 million square feet (msf) of new industrial product has been delivered year-to-date, nearly triple the square footage completed during all of 2025. Although all seven assets remain fully available, they are well-positioned to capitalize on the recent acceleration of demand, particularly from large occupiers seeking modern facilities that better align with current operational requirements.
Demand: Momentum Continues
Demand was robust during the first half of 2026 as the market posted its highest first-half leasing total since 2021 and more than doubled the leasing activity recorded over the same period in 2025. Nearly 2.0 msf of leasing activity was recorded across the market during Q2, marking the second-highest quarterly demand total of the past four years, outpaced only by the previous quarter’s volume of 2.2 msf. The quarter was anchored by a confidential logistics tenant’s 616,875-sf lease at the newly constructed 75 Plain Street in Hopedale, the largest new industrial lease in Greater Boston since 2020. Despite the outsized impact of this sizeable deal, demand has broadened beyond a handful of isolated transactions with 10 leases exceeding 100,000 sf signed across the market during the first half of the year, already surpassing the eight executed during the entirety of 2025.
Pricing: A New Record-High
Direct average asking rents jumped 8.0% YOY to $16.06 per square foot (psf), marking a new record-high for Boston’s industrial market and a sharp acceleration from the relatively flat pricing environment the prior year. Six of the region’s 11 submarkets posted annual rent growth. The North cluster led the market, with asking rents increasing nearly $4.00 psf to $20.61 psf, reflecting the addition of newly delivered, high-quality options at premium rents.
