Leasing in 2nd Quarter Quickly Outpacing 1st Quarter Numbers: Report
By Daniel Edward Rosen May 30, 2012 3:38 pm
reprintsA total of 6.3 million square feet of office space has been leased out in the first two months of the 2nd quarter in 2012, already well above the 5.57 million square feet that was leased out in the previous quarter, according to a recent Jones Lang LaSalle report.
Approximately 4 million square feet of space was leased out in the month of April, while 2.3 million square feet was leased out during this month, according to the report.
Despite the encouraging bump in leasing activity, roughly 11.87 million square feet of office space has been leased out so far this year, compared to 16.9 million square feet leased during the same time frame last year.
Rental rates have also gone up in many of Manhattan’s submarkets. Asking rents for office space in Downtown have gone up 7.4 percent to $41.32 from $38.49 in the past year.
In Midtown South, rental rates have shot up by 24.4 percent in the past year, to $55.04 from $44.2o. Rates for Class A space in Midtown South saw the most seismic shift in pricing, jumping up by 44.6 percent to $70.25 from $48.59 in the last year.
The month of April was dominated by high-profile deals like Viacom’s lease renewal and expansion to 1.6 million square feet at 1515 Broadway, along with Havas Worldwide’s deal to set up its New York City headquarters at 200 and 205 Hudson Street.
As for May, leather goods maker Coach reportedly agreed to expand its footprint by at least 150,000 square feet at the South Tower in Hudson Yards, while fashion brand Tory Burch took two floors and 80,000 square feet at 35o Hudson Street.
drosen@observer.com
