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High-end office buildings are starting to feel the pinch of rising vacancies in the Greater Boston office market.

Overall, the Greater Boston office market had a 17 percent vacancy rate at year’s end, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a historic high. The 3.1 percent year-over-year increase followed a 2.5 percent rise in vacancies during 2023.

Notably, the class A office sector, which includes the highest-rent buildings with services and amenities, saw a 3.7 percent increase in vacancies during 2024, compared with 2.3 percent in the class B sector, the brokerage reported.

Lease transaction activity remained concentrated in renewals, according to the report. Tenants inked 4.3 million square feet of renewals, representing 46 percent of all lease transactions compared with 24 percent in 2023.
Major tenants opting to remain in place included law firm Ropes & Gray, which renewed its 413,000-square-foot lease at BXP’s Prudential Center tower.

“The office market’s dynamics reflect a shift towards stability, with renewals leading the way. Tenants continue to prioritize highly amenitized assets and prime locations to adapt to changing workplace strategies,” Senior Research Manager Riley McMullan said in a statement.

Total leasing activity declined 1.2 million square feet from the previous year to 5.1 million square feet.

Suburban properties have landed some of the region’s largest office leases in recent months. Eastern Bank leased 51,751 square feet at 601 Edgewater Drive in Wakefield, but is reducing its office footprint north of Boston by 73  percent. Commonwealth Financial Network leased 151,765 square feet at 275 Wyman St. in Waltham. Both properties are owned by Waltham-based Hobbs Brook Real Estate.