Los Angeles/Orange County got a score of 47.4, displacing Westchester County on the top 10 lsit. There is 5.9 million sq. ft. of life sciences space in the area, with a vacancy rate of 3.4 percent and average asking rents of $10.60 per sq. ft.

In absolute numbers, the suburban towns of Northern New Jersey are number five on the list of markets where developers are now building the most garden-style apartments, according to CoStar. These densely populated towns are unusual—the cost of development sites in Northern New Jersey is relatively expensive compared to the other top markets for construction.

“Northern New Jersey is also an outlier in that a recently built garden-style unit goes for about the same rent as recently built mid-rise unit,” says Rybczynski. “So, it would seem that Northern New Jerseyians prize the low-density, while being able to commute to New York City.”

The Seattle-Bellevue area received a score of 48.0. The supply of life sciences space here totals 9.7 million sq. ft. The vacancy rate is currently at 5.5 percent, and asking rents average $22.03 per sq. ft.

Maryland suburbs/D.C. metro area made the list with a score of 54.3. There are 11.5 million sq. ft. of life sciences space in the region, with a vacancy rate of 3.2 percent and asking rents of $24.23 per sq. ft.

Investment home sales in Philadelphia rose by 1.6 percent between 2016 and 2017.

The area around Raleigh, N.C.—the Raleigh-Durham Research Triangle—includes several top colleges providing workers for a growing technology economy. There is also a lot of relatively inexpensive land where developers can build new garden-style apartments.

That’s why Raleigh made number five on the list of places where developers are building the most garden-style apartments, relative to the small size of the area’s population, according to CoStar.

San Diego got a score of 65.8, overtaking Raleigh-Durham in the third spot since last year. The city has 17 million sq. ft. of life sciences space, with a vacancy rate of 7.3 percent and asking rents of $40.80 per sq. ft.

The San Francisco Bay area ended up with a score of 79.7 in this year’s ranking. Life sciences space in the market totals 20.0 million sq. ft., but vacancy remains relatively tight at 5.1 percent. Asking rents average $50.98 per sq. ft.

Greater Boston topped this year’s ranking, with a weighted score of 82.3. There is 26.8 million sq. ft. of life sciences space in the area. Vacancy is currently at 7.3 percent, with asking rents of $42.85 per sq. ft.