Manhattan Office Leasing on Track for Lowest Level in 20 Years
Manhattan Office Leasing on Track for Lowest Level in 20 Years
(Bloomberg) -- Manhattan office leasing in 2020 could reach the lowest level in 20 years, according to a report by Colliers International.
New leases totaling 1.3 million square feet (120,774 square meters) were signed in August, nearly 64% below the 2019 monthly average of 3.6 million square feet, Colliers said.
So far this year, about 13.7 million square feet worth of office leases have been signed in Manhattan. If that doesn’t pick up, it will be the worst full year since the turn of the century.
Remote work has kept many office employees at home as New York rides out the pandemic, with some firms looking outside the city for space to spread out and avoid crowded trains, lobbies and elevators. And while a handful of high-profile new leases, including Facebook Inc. at the Farley Building, have added confidence that the market will bounce back, companies remain cautious due to uncertainty surrounding the virus.
Colliers said that it would only take a few deals over 100,000 square feet to “significantly move the needle” in the office market the rest of the year. Facebook’s lease for 730,000 square feet across from Madison Square Garden helped boost leasing volume by 24% in the Midtown South area for August compared to a year earlier, the firm said.
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