"Rents have really spiked during the last 12 months," concursMeredith & Grew research director Mary Kelly. And whilecautioning that, "you can't just will rents up by asking," Kellytells GlobeSt.com there have been some leases struck recently thatdid achieve $40 per sf, and she predicts more will follow as theyear progresses.

"Landlords are being aggressive," she says, and for seeminglygood reason given various first quarter reports putting the officevacancy rate in Cambridge around 10%.

RBJ found a 9.7% vacancy for Cambridge overall, similar to the9.5% recorded by Cushman & Wakefield, whereas Jones LangLaSalle shows a 7.3% mark. The RBJ survey covers 13.1 million sf,compared to 16.1 million sf for JLL. No matter what the sampling,all reports showed tighter conditions throughout Cambridge, a trendRBJ president Robert Richards attributes to the combination of animproving economy and the reduced inventory of space. "This isprobably the hottest submarket in Greater Boston right now," saysRichards, a specialist on the Cambridge market.