Manhattan Office Leasing on Pace for Highest Volume Since 2019

Manhattan had another strong month of office leasing activity in July, according to the latest figures from Colliers.

Monthly leasing activity increased by 10.7 percent  and was 11.3 percent higher than the 10-year monthly average, the research found. Some of the largest leases in July included Verizon’s 203,000-square-foot deal at Penn 2, and the 120,000-square-foot lease by the law firm Latham & Watkins at 1285 Avenue of the Americas.

“This was absolutely a sign that the healthy demand and march towards recovery has not slowed down,” said Frank Wallach, executive managing director of research and business development for Colliers. “We had just over 3 million square feet of leasing activity, and when you get more than 3 million square feet in a single month, that is an absolutely strong month. The 10-year average is 2.7 million square feet.”

Additionally, Manhattan’s asking rent average increased by 0.2 percent to $73.97 per square foot from June to July. This was still 6.9 percent lower than in March 2020.

“One month alone does not tell the entire story,” Wallach said. “It’s hard to see major patterns from one single month, but if we look at the year-to-date figure we had more than 23 million square feet of leasing volume, and that means that we’re on pace — if the activity remains consistent for the remainder of the year — to potentially have more than 40 million square feet of leasing volume for 2025.” 

If Manhattan’s office leasing numbers were to exceed 40 million square feet, it would be the first time it happened since 2019. 

“Now, will that happen? That’s anyone’s guess,” Wallach said. “But the math is certainly encouraging.” 

Amanda Schiavo can be reached at aschiavo@commercialobserver.com.