Since the market bottomed out 71 months ago, overall average asking rents have been on the rise throughout Manhattan, up 31.1 percent to $72.60 per square foot in January. Downtown had the largest increase of the three major markets during this time, up 53.3 percent to $59.70 per square foot. Midtown South was a close second with a 50.4 percent increase to $69.68 per square foot, while Midtown trails behind both markets with only a 26 percent increase to $78.01 per square foot. With asking rents up throughout Manhattan, let’s examine how much asking rents in the 19 submarkets increased.
The Laggards: 1-20 percent increase
Sixth Avenue/Rock Center and Madison/Fifth are the only two submarkets with overall asking rent increases less than 20 percent since the market bottomed in March 2010.
The Pretenders: 21-35 percent increase
Six submarkets make it into this group, five of which are in Midtown. Asking rents for Greenwich/Noho (the one non-Midtown market) jumped 30.9 percent to $65.76 per square foot., Grand Central, the West Side, East Side/UN and Times Square South all had asking rental increases between 22.6 and 27.6 percent and Murray Hill led this group with a 34.4 percent spike in asking rents to $62.59 per square foot.
The Up-and-Comers: 36-50 percent increase
Seven submarkets fit into this group, three from Downtown and two each for Midtown and Midtown South. The asking rent growth for Penn Station, Financial West, Chelsea and Financial East ranged from 38.8 percent to 41.1 percent since March 2010. The top three in this group are spread throughout the three markets, as Madison/Union Square asking rents soared 43.2 percent to $68.84 per square foot, Park Avenue had a 47.2 percent jump to $102.57 per square foot and City Hall led all up-and-comers with a 48 percent increase to $62.56 per square foot.
Top of the Town: Greater than 50 percent increase
No Midtown submarkets made it into this group, as Midtown South and Downtown have two representatives each. Downtown secured the No. 3 and 4 spots, as the World Trade Center and City Hall asking rents rose 53.5 percent and 59.1 percent, respectively. Midtown South submarkets took the top two spots on the list with Hudson Square/West Village asking rents soaring 67 percent to $76.59 per square foot. The No. 1 ranked submarket for overall average asking rent increases since the market bottomed out is Soho with a 76.2 percent increase to $77.57 per square foot.