Brookline Retail Space - For Rent & Sale

Like many other Boston neighborhoods, Brookline has been experiencing a retail boom lately. Consumer confidence continues to rise, and household income is creeping up too. These and other factors make this a great time to buy retail and commercial space in Brookline. If you've held off because it all seems too complicated, give Boston City Properties' free listings a try. You'll quickly see that they provide the fastest, easiest way to find suitable retail properties in this charming city. It's completely free to sign up, and then you will be able to search and browse our listings until you zero in on something perfect.

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Retail Space

How to Find Retail Space in Brookline

Brookline is home to a thriving retail market. By setting up shop in this lovely city, you can give your business the best odds of success. The first step, of course, is finding a great space for your business. Brookline retail space runs the gamut in terms of size, lease terms, layout, location and more. It can all get pretty confusing, which is why it pays to have access to accurate, up-to-the-second information. Our listings are available around the clock and include all the information you need to zero in on viable options in this unique area.

Find the Right Retail Space in Brookline with Boston City Properties

Don't sell yourself short when looking for Brookline retail space. Whether you'd like to buy or lease, the team at Boston City Properties has you covered. Right this instant, you can sign up to enjoy free, around-the-clock access to our commercial and retail properties listings. We also have a team of retail space sales and leasing experts that is ready to assist you. With all of these resources at your disposal, you will be able to find prime Brookline retail space quickly, and you will be open for business before you know it. Sign up to access our listings now!

If you’re looking to buy, lease or invest in commercial square footage for a shop or other business, this is an excellent place to look. Located directly adjacent to the city of Boston, this bustling town offers a central location that brings in people from throughout the metro area and beyond. With bustling corridors like Coolidge Corner, it’s an ideal place to situate a business that relies on foot traffic. However, just like the city of Boston’s, this town’s commercial real estate market is fast-paced, confusing and fiercely competitive. For the best odds of finding what you need quickly, turn to the experts at Boston City Properties.

Whether you need to lease a location for your business or want to purchase this type of property for investment purposes, you have selected a good town on which to focus your efforts. As is the case with much of the area, this town has been experiencing a major squeeze in terms of availability of commercial real estate. Vacancy rates are extremely low, and this continues to cause asking rents to climb. However, when compared with prevailing rates in many downtown core areas of Boston, leasing a location here is generally more affordable.

Finding a suitable location for a business in this town can be a daunting proposition. It’s best to go into it with as many resources at your disposal as possible, so do yourself a favor and connect with Boston City Properties. We’ll give you free, instant access to our searchable listings, so you can kick-start your search right away. Later, we can also refer you to a local real estate professional in this town who can guide you through the rest of the process. For now, though, take a little time to educate yourself about this town’s commercial real estate submarket.

Market Overview

Knowing at least the basics about a local submarket allows you to make more strategic decisions when shopping for a location for a business. This town’s market is highly complex, so it helps to at least be acquainted with how it works and with the factors that are currently at play.

Here’s a quick rundown of this town’s commercial real estate market:

• Absorption rates – While places like downtown Boston and Cambridge continue to struggle to construct enough square footage to accommodate local businesses, this aspect of this town’s market has been on more of an even keel lately. The last few years have seen more real estate absorbed than developed, but there has been enough inventory to sustain the phenomenon. With an uptick in the development of new hotels on the horizon, however, this could start to change in the near future.
• Investor activity – Investors from across the state, region, country and world have been enjoying a feeding frenzy in prime Boston neighborhoods for some time now. Boston’s booming market is no secret, and it’s attracted investors from many walks of life. Lately, however, they are increasingly being crowded out of hotbeds of real estate activity like Back Bay and the Seaport. As a result, many have been turning outward—and this town is right in their crosshairs.
• Asking rents - In some Boston neighborhoods, you are looking at paying upwards of $100 per square foot or more for commercial square footage—especially if you need a storefront. It’s important to know this because it really highlights what a great deal you can get in this town. Lately, asking rents for commercial locations have ranged from around $30 to around $70 per square foot. Later in this article, we will examine the types of factors that affect lease prices. That way, you can get a feel for the kind of real estate that you can realistically afford to rent in this town.
• Vacancy rates – Although this town hasn’t faced the rock-bottom vacancy rates that have plagued many core, downtown Boston neighborhoods, it has still been experiencing some of its lowest ones in recent memory. Across Greater Boston, vacancy rates have steadily dropped over the last several years. From the fourth quarter of 2015, for example, to the fourth quarter of 2016, the rate dropped from 8.9 percent to 7.5 percent. This represents the buying or leasing of upwards of 1 million square feet of commercial real estate of all kinds, including prime locations for pedestrian foot traffic and the like.

Why Now is a Great Time to Set Up Shop

Like anyone who is thinking about leasing a location for a business in this bustling town, you probably have your doubts. After all, so many variables come into play when it comes to running a successful business. There is far more to it than offering top-notch products or services. Unfortunately, location often really is everything. To get one that really works, you’re looking at a large investment. Is it worth it?

If you could choose to set up a business selling wares to locals in any major city in the U.S. , you would be hard-pressed to find a better place than Boston these days. Consumer confidence is through the roof, as the economy continues to grow, more jobs continue to be added and unemployment keeps dropping. One thing that scares many business owners away from the city itself is its through-the-roof asking rents. These are still an issue in this town, but they are far less of one. With help from Boston City Properties and a skilled local real estate agent, you can identify a location that suits your budget, aligns with your objectives and will propel your business to new heights of success.

What to Expect

Although this town is technically separate from Boston, it shares a very dense, urban environment with its neighbor. As is the case in many parts of the big city, this town has several pockets where commercial activity tends to be the most prominent. Chief among them is Coolidge Corner, which is often cited as the place to situate a business if you want excellent foot traffic and other benefits. In this district and in many other areas around the town, you will find stretches of densely packed brownstones and similar structures that have been repurposed for commercial activity.

Virtually throughout this entire town, you can rest assured of decent foot traffic for your business. If you need a prominent storefront, however, you will almost certainly pay top dollar—especially if the location is along a main drag. If having a large street-level presence isn’t as important, keep in mind that this town has plenty of “uppers” and “downers” available most of the time. These locations are situated either a half-story above or a half-story below street level, and they are typically leased out for a lot less than prevailing rates.

Since vacancy rates aren’t quite as low as elsewhere in the area, there tends to be a greater variety of options most of the time. This makes it easier to zero in on square footage that will really suit your needs. By signing up to search Boston City Properties’ listings, you can check current availability for the types of locations that would align with your objectives. Our search tool lets you restrict your search to a specific town, city or neighborhood, so you can focus it on this town to more quickly find what you need.

Prices

Sitting down and writing a list of the types of features that you need for your business is easy. Finding a way to actually afford that type of property is much more difficult. It is crucial to have a clear understanding of your budget and of prevailing rates before getting serious about your search. We will refer you to a real estate expert later, and their help will make a huge difference. Still, it is also important to have a personal understanding of the basics.

One thing that may throw you for a loop while searching for a business location in this bustling town is the way in which lease prices are quoted. Unfortunately, they aren’t always quoted based on the same type of lease, and this makes it extremely difficult to contrast and compare options.

In general, listings for commercial properties are quoted in triple-net lease terms. You can’t count on it, though, so always check to see what type of lease is being quoted. Here’s some quick information about the different lease types that you will encounter:

• Gross lease – The tenant pays a flat rate. The landlord covers all expenses, including property taxes, property insurance and maintenance costs.
• Single-net lease – In addition to the rent fee, the tenant is responsible for a percentage of the property taxes. The landlord covers the cost of maintenance as well as property insurance.
• Double-net lease – On top of the rent fee, the tenant is responsible for a percentage of the property taxes and insurance. The landlord covers the cost of maintenance.
• Triple-net lease – Also known as a NNN lease, this is the most popular type. In addition to the rent, the tenant is responsible for a percentage of the property taxes, insurance and maintenance.

As far as how prices are trending in this town, asking rents have continued to increase from year to year. With the upcoming development of several new hotels, many additional new businesses are likely to open and succeed. In turn, demand for certain types of commercial locations is likely to increase, and this could prompt asking rates to climb even more. What this means for you and for anyone who is seeking to open a business here is that you should act quickly. Remember that Boston City Properties’ database is updated around the clock, so you can rest assured of accurate, timely information at all times.

Which Factors Affect Asking Rents?

Even if you take care to familiarize yourself with prevailing asking rents in this town, the bottom line is that prices vary wildly and are influenced by many factors. It is helpful to be aware of these factors because it allows you to determine what you are willing to pay more for and what you can safely do without. Like any business owner, you are probably tempted to get the biggest and best that you can get. At the end of the day, though, location accounts for so much that it’s worth it to compromise in other areas.

Some of the top factors affecting the cost of commercial real estate—especially for businesses that rely on foot traffic to effectively market their products—include:

• Tenant clout – Certain tenants enjoy concessions when it comes to commercial leases. Essentially, if a tenant is one that is likely to attract more shoppers to the area, it is more likely to be wooed by landlords and given special accommodations. Unfortunately, this applies to a very small percentage of businesses in metro Boston, and you are unlikely to benefit from it in any concrete way.
• Size – In places where square footage is severely limited in general, you are actually likely to pay a higher rate for smaller locations than for larger ones. This isn’t exactly true in the case of this town, but that isn’t to say that there is much variety in terms of size. As is the case throughout most of Boston, the vast majority of commercial square footage is limited to around 2,000 square feet or less.
• Proximity to traffic generators – The closer a location is to the center of town, the more you are likely to pay to lease it. Additionally, locations that are within close proximity of certain traffic generators tend to fetch top dollar versus those that are further afield. Such generators include things like mass transit stops, anchor stores and universities. Needless to say, businesses that are relatively close to such features tend to enjoy a lot more foot traffic. If you own a business that relies on that type of exposure, it could be worth it in the long run to pay to be closer to stuff.
• Condition of the premises – Perhaps it should go without saying that the condition of the building where you lease affects how much you will pay, but this isn’t always something that occurs to people. If the nature of your business is to present products and services in a positive and enticing light, however, you will likely want to stick with a location that is in fairly good condition. If you must lease a place that’s not so perfect, make sure that you are permitted to make improvements to it if you want.

Knowing these points, you can see how you will most likely have to make some trade-offs when looking for a location for your business in this busy town. If foot traffic is your bread and butter, it may be worth it to put more of your investment in location rather than, say, the quality of the premises. Then again, if customers find your business through other means, and if presenting your products in a spectacular light is crucial, perhaps consider a location that is in a pristine, impeccable building but that is a bit off of the beaten path.

News

While many core areas of downtown Boston are in the midst of a construction boom, and many exciting news stories continue to churn out, activity in this town has been a bit more subdued. The biggest excitement over the last few months has been the announcement of the addition of a few new hotels near the bustling Coolidge Corner district. One hotel has been tentatively approved for 1299 Beacon Street, and construction of a Hilton Garden Inn near Brookline Avenue and Route 9 was recently given the green light. Some are skeptical about the town’s ability to fill these hotels, but its proximity to the LMA, Cambridge and many Boston neighborhoods should ensure continued development and growth.

How Boston City Properties Can Help

Shopping for commercial real estate for investment purposes is tricky enough; finding a location for your business in a busy place like this town is exponentially more difficult. Make it easier by connecting with Boston City Properties. Complete and submit the easy form to get instant, free, unlimited access to our online database of searchable MA real estate listings. Use our powerful search tool to zero in on commercial square footage that suits your needs. Select this town to limit your search there, and use filters for things like price and total square footage to refine your results even more.

Eventually, the time will come to venture out and take a look at options on your list in person. First, contact Boston City Properties for a referral to an experienced local commercial real estate expert. This agent will possess in-depth knowledge of this town’s complex markets, and they will use this knowledge to help you find the perfect thing. With their help, you may even be able to negotiate yourself to more suitable lease terms, and they will be there to help all the way through signing. For more information in the meantime, please contact Boston City Properties.

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Retail Space