The MetroWest area boasts the second highest number of jobs in Massachusetts behind Boston and a far lower lease cost per square foot, but any anticipation that companies will move their offices from the Hub to the I-495 corridor may be nothing more than wishful thinking.

"At this point, it’s probably more of a hope," said Paul Leone, senior vice president of the commercial real estate firm Richards Barry Joyce & Partners.

Leone was a panelist at the 495/MetroWest Partnership economic forum held today in Framingham. He said MetroWest was still attractive to big tenants like Boston Scientific, Bose, IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Fidelity Investments, but since the economic collapse of last year, very few Boston and Cambridge tenants have made the migration west.

"You see it in isolated cases, but more than that, some companies need to be in Boson," he said. "They need access to clients, or they need an access to the services there. A lot of times, savings don’t justify a relocation, because the other problems with moving are just too great."

State Rep. David Linsky, D – Natick, said as companies begin to streamline their own business practices, especially in communication technology, MetroWest’s cheaper rents will look more and more attractive.

"The rental space market is less expensive than Boston, and there are very few sectors that need to be in Boston now that we have a virtual economy," Linsky said. "It makes sense for businesses to relocate to the MetroWest."

One thing standing in the way is a lack of efficient transportation methods to commute out of Boston, but Linsky said the state’s recent purchase of CSX’s railyard in Allston should quickly pay dividends.

"There will be more efficient and faster commuter trains," Linsky said.

Dr. Jeffrey Fuhrer, executive vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said the national commercial real estate sector is likely to sustain losses of 35 percent to 50 percent this year.

While there have been some federal efforts to catalyze the commercial capital markets, Fuhrer said the sector’s recovery would have to wait for a greater stabilization of the economy and employment starts to rise again.

"There is some stimulus there, but ultimately, commercial real estate is going to recover when there are more bodies in seats," Fuhrer said.

Fuhrer said employment may not recover for as long as five years.