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September 27, 2018

Office vacancy rates up, occupancy shrinks across much of MetroWest

Photo/Google Among the largest office deals for the quarter was the $14.4-million sale in August of 144 Turnpike Road in Southborough. Capital Group Properties, which is located just down the street at 259 Turnpike Road, bought the office building.

Vacancy rates have risen and occupancy has shrunk for office space in MetroWest, according to a third-quarter report by Perry Brokerage Associates of Boston.

Perry's report, issued this week, shows that office-market growth in Boston and its immediate suburbs isn't spreading so much to the western suburbs farther out.

The Boroughs — Marlborough, Northborough, Southborough and Westborough — saw their vacancy rates rise to 16.4 percent in the third quarter, which ends Sept. 30. That's up from 15.9 percent in the previous quarter and 15.2 percent a year prior.

Framingham and Natick, which are grouped together by Perry as the Boroughs are, had a vacancy rate of 11.2 percent. That's down slightly from an 11.3 rate in the previous quarter and a rate of 9.3 percent a year prior.

Framingham and Natick combined saw office-space occupancy rise by 10,000 square feet in the third quarter, according to Perry, and by 44,000 square feet in the last 12 months.

In the Boroughs, on the other hand, occupancy has been reduced by 75,000 square feet in the latest quarter and by 170,000 square feet in the past year.

Among the largest office deals for the quarter was the $14.4-million sale in August of 144 Turnpike Road in Southborough. Capital Group Properties, which is located just down the street at 259 Turnpike Road, bought the office building from limited liability corporations tied to CWCapital of Bethesda, Md., and Starwood Capital of Miami.

Average rents have risen slightly in Framingham and Natick, according to Perry, which doesn't detail rents for the Boroughs. In Framingham and Natick, average rents were $32.24 per square foot in the most recent quarter, compared to $31.21 a year prior.

Perry did not report any pre-leased office construction underway in either the Framingham and Natick or Boroughs markets.

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