In spite of a bit of cooldown in investor interest in life sciences assets in recent months, this sector of the U.S. commercial real estate market continues to post impressive property fundamentals. A recent report from commercial real estate services firm CBRE found that in the second quarter, the average vacancy rate in the 12 largest life sciences markets declined by 10 basis points year-over-year, to 5.2 percent, while average asking rent rose to $54.77 per sq. ft. The firm also reported, however, that life sciences tenants’ requirements for new space declined from the first to the second quarter by roughly 6 million sq. ft. and approximately 29 million sq. oft of new space built on a speculative basis remained available for lease.
The following gallery lays out what is currently happening with supply and demand in each of the 12 markets CBRE looked at.