"The numbers are big," RBJ director of research Brendan Carrolltells GlobeSt.com, with 1.6 million sf of positive absorptionbetween April and mid-year. That marks the sixth straight quarterof positive absorption, and the 5.1 million sf absorbed sincehalfway through 2006 is the most for any such period since 2001."The metrics look good just about everywhere," says Carroll, whoseBoston-based firm tracked 630,000 sf of positive absorption in thecity during the quarter, with 315,000-sf of that occurring in theBack Bay District, now among the strongest office markets in thecountry.

Besides the standard mid-year review, RBJ issued a special lookdissecting office market trends since conditions began improvingfour years ago after the brutal recession that started the decade.Since the third quarter of 2003, a limited number of submarketshave enjoyed the lion's share of leasing activity and rental rategains, discloses RBJ, which refers to the top performers as the"hot markets." They include Class A space in Boston's FinancialDistrict and Back Bay, plus all categories of office product inEast Cambridge, Burlington, Waltham and Woburn.

Collectively, the hot markets account for 60.2 million sf,compared to 111 million sf in the remaining areas. Since Q3 2003,the hot markets have seen their vacancy rate decline from 21.1% to9.6%, whereas the larger pool has only experienced a dip from 19.6%to 16.8%. That means 69% of all leasing in metropolitan Boston hasbeen done in the "hot markets," says Carroll, which account forjust 35% of the inventory. There has been 8.4 million sf ofabsorption since 2003 in the hot markets versus 4.5 million sf forthe remainder.