New York’s office market is, surprise surprise, still adrift, according to real estate brokerage Cassidy Turley’s May 2010 report, appropriately titled, “Month of Ups and Downs.”
On the one hand, vacancy rates dropped—a good thing:
By the close of the month, the Manhattan Class A vacancy rate had eased to 12.2%, down 30 basis points from April while the overall figure declined to 13.1%, down 10 basis points. Class A direct availability closed the month at 19.2-mm-sf, down from 20.1-mm-sf in April while Class A sublet availability actually posted an increase to 9.7-mmsf from 9.6-mm-sf, its first climb since October of last year.
On the other hand—alas!—rents are still falling:
Though a number of landlords claim to be raising their asking prices, the Class A figure still showed a slight decline for the month, falling to $58.72/sf from $59.31/sf with overall pricing also recording a minor drop to $48.42/sf from $48.82/sf.
More fun facts here.
drubinstein@observer.com
