The Boston commercial property market hasn’t seen rents like this since fall ’08, just prior to the last downturn. Now rates are somewhat higher, JLL regional research manager Lisa Strope tells us. In its biannual survey of 44 premier office buildings—Class-A buildings of 15 stories-plus and at least 250k SF—the brokerage also found a 24.7% gap between high-rise and low-rise rents compared to a gap of just 11.5% seven years ago. Demand is strong for all types of office space and the allure of being in the best space has returned.

For a long time, value tenants were driving the office market; now a wider array of tenants are leasing. The traditional legal and financial services firms are still major players. But the tenant base has expanded to include more technology, advertising, media and information businesses. The diverse tenant base and rents that are rising at a steady pace have caught the attention of investors from around the world, Lisa adds. With 8% of the market, Tishman Speyer is developing on Fan Pier with institutional Chinese investors. Norges Bank of Norway, Oxford Properties of Canada and Mitsubishi of Japan have all taken major positions in Boston.