An Introduction

When you go out on your own, the first few years are about proving you can do the work. You keep your head down. You focus on the client in front of you. You don’t spend a lot of time promoting the business.

That approach has served me well. Overtime Real Estate has grown through referrals, repeat clients, and the kind of word-of-mouth that only comes from doing the work. Over the past year the pace has picked up. New listings. New partners. New requirements coming in from clients who found their way here through people they trust. The business has matured to the point where it made sense to build something around it. A new website. A newsletter. And this blog.

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The Scouting Report is where I’ll share what I’m seeing on the ground across the South Shore and Southeastern Massachusetts commercial market. What’s moving. Where tenants are looking. What the capital side is doing to deal flow. Most national reports fold this market into Greater Boston and move on. That’s always been a missed read. This corridor operates on its own supply constraints, its own demand drivers, its own tenant base. That’s what this is about.

Most National reports fold this market into Greater Boston and move on. That's always been a missed read.

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Where Things Stand: May 2026

‍Industrial and flex is the strongest sector on the South Shore. Demand from subcontractors, tradesmen, and distributors has remained consistent. Rents are holding in the mid-to-high teens per square foot. Functional product continues to be absorbed. Nationally, industrial net absorption increased 16% year over year in 2025, with the second half showing the strongest numbers.

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Retail is performing well, particularly in grocery-anchored and service-oriented centers. The South Shore’s demographics support service retail. Healthcare, food, personal services, and wellness users are actively expanding. Transit-adjacent locations are drawing consistent interest. Grocery-anchored and open-air retail centers entered 2026 with limited new supply and steady foot traffic. Big Y recently announced a new location in Pembroke at the former Stop & Shop on Mattakeesett Street, part of a four-store Massachusetts rollout. Anchors like that drive traffic that benefits the entire center.

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Office is the most challenged sector. Tenants continue to reduce their footprint. Smaller suites are the most active segment. Larger blocks are moving slowly. Tenants have leverage. Owners holding larger blocks who are not pricing to current conditions will continue to feel that gap.

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Investment sales are steady, but the lending environment requires attention. Banks have tightened underwriting and extended timelines on deal approvals. Deals are getting done. The ones that close cleanly are the ones where financing is structured before the conversation starts. The 10-year Treasury yield sat at 4.3% at the end of Q1 2026. The discipline required on the capital side has gone up from where it was two years ago.

‍What Comes Next

‍The Overtime Report, our quarterly newsletter, launches in June. The Scouting Report will run alongside it, covering submarket conditions, deal patterns, and what’s worth paying attention to for anyone operating or investing on the South Shore.
If that’s useful to you, stay tuned.