According to Colliers, Manhattan’s office leasing volume in August decreased by almost one-third compared to July. However, it was still up 3.5% from the previous year and aligned with the average monthly leasing rate of 2.66 million square feet over the past decade. The significant difference between July and August can be attributed to Blackstone’s expansion of 1.06 million square feet at 345 Park Ave in July, which did not have a comparable deal in August.
Franklin Wallach, executive managing director of research & business development for Colliers New York stated that instead of experiencing a typical slow month for office leasing in August, tenant demand remained steady and exceeded supply as seen historically. He also noted that there is an increase in occupier demand along with more planned conversions which are reducing excess office space availability.
In addition to this data from Colliers, Real Estate Board of New York reported on Tuesday that visitation rates for offices reached 72% compared to pre-pandemic levels or even higher at 78%, if we exclude Fourth of July week statistics.This indicates strong performance particularly among newly constructed or renovated properties as well as Class B buildings located near transit hubs according Keith DeCoster , VP Research at REBNY.
The photo shows LVMH’s new lease signing for their location at590 Madison Ave., spanning across108233-square-feetinAugust.
Overall,theManhattanofficeleasingmarketiskeepingpacewithits historicalaverageasitcontinuestorecoverfromtheimpactofthepandemic.