The Manhattan workplace market could have its finest yr since individuals had been worrying about Y2K.
Tenants inked offers for 4.2 million sq. toes in Might, up 17 % from April and 35 % year-over-year, in line with a brand new Colliers report. Yr-to-date leasing quantity reached 19.6 million sq. toes, up 10 % from the identical interval final yr. If leasing continues at its present tempo, 2026 is shaping as much as Manhattan’s finest yr of whole quantity since 2000.
A couple of big-ticket transactions drove the month. The biggest was legislation agency Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s 916,000-square-foot lease at Extell’s workplace tower at 570 Fifth Avenue, which is underneath development and anticipated to be completed in 2028. The lease – Manhattan’s second-largest this yr – is 200,000 sq. toes bigger than was beforehand reported.
Different main offers included Google’s 411,000-square-foot renewal at Jack Resnick & Sons’ 315 Hudson Avenue and Versant’s 249,000-square-foot renewal and expansion at Columbia Property Belief’s 229 West forty third Avenue.
The robust leasing exercise helped shrink Manhattan’s availability charge to 13.2 %, down barely from April. Out there stock fell to 69.2 million sq. toes, the bottom degree since October 2020 and nearly 30 % beneath its post-pandemic peak of 98 million sq. toes. Sublease area has shrunk 25 % year-over-year.
Midtown remained the market’s engine, accounting for greater than half of all leasing exercise in Might. Leasing quantity within the submarket practically doubled from April and a yr earlier, fueled by the Simpson Thacher deal. Though down from April, Midtown South posted leasing quantity properly above its ten-year common. Downtown availability tightened regardless of a slowdown in deal quantity from April, which acquired a lift from legislation agency Cleary Gottlieb’s large lease.
Landlords additionally gained pricing energy. Manhattan’s common asking hire rose to $77.76 per sq. foot, the best degree since August 2020 and practically 6 % increased than a yr in the past.
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