Though many tenants opted to divest large blocks of space over the past three years amid uncertain market conditions by either terminating leases or putting space on the sublease market, others have taken a different approach, choosing to renew-in-
place and retaining the same square footage over downsizing. In a testament to the strength of some occupiers’ spaces in the market, each of the largest transactions of the year in 2021, 2022 and 2023 were renewals of 300,000 sf or more. Most recently, MFS Investment Management inked a deal to remain in its 300,000-sf space at 111 Huntington Avenue in Downtown Boston’s Back Bay–a nod to the strength of the highly walkable, transit-connected and amenity-rich submarket, as well as the stability of users in the traditionally reliable financial services sector.
As new demand slowed in Greater Boston’s office market, the share of renewals across all transactions increased. In 2021, renewals comprised 14.5% of total office transaction volume, falling even lower in 2022 at just 11.9% of activity when three of the five largest transactions of the year were preleased in under-, or yet-to-be constructed assets. In 2023, renewals accounted for nearly one-quarter of total leasing volume in Greater Boston, a 1,260-bps spike over the prior year. Since the start of 2023, nearly 40 tenants occupying spaces 10,000 sf or larger have renewed for an average of 39,000 sf each, substantially larger than the average 26,000-sf