Midtown South Drives Strong Manhattan Office Leasing in August: Report

The road to recovery in the post-pandemic world is long and winding, but the Manhattan office market is navigating it with precision and efficiency. 

Manhattan’s monthly leasing activity increased more than 20 percent from July to August and was up significantly year-over-year as well, according to a new Colliers report. Leasing activity throughout the borough spanned 3.7 million square feet for August, compared to 2.6 million square feet leased in August 2024. 

Midtown South saw the strongest leasing activity in the borough with 2.2 million square feet leased. July saw just 1.3 million square feet leased in the submarket, a figure that fell as low as 987,256 square feet last August. 

Leasing activity in the Downtown submarket totaled 191,333 square feet for August, a drop from the 374,726 square feet leased in July and the 205,193 square feet leased in August 2024. Midtown leasing activity was 1.3 million square feet, in line with July’s figures, but below the 1.4 million square feet leased in August of last year. 

Still, Manhattan leasing activity for August 2025 was 36.2 percent above the 10-year monthly average, driven by high demand and tight availability. The availability rate for August was 15 percent, compared to 17 percent for the same month last year. 

Office asking rent across Manhattan ticked higher to an average of $74.73 per square foot in August, compared to $74.56 for the same month in 2024.

As of August 2025, some of the largest lease deals of the year include Deloitte taking 807,000 square feet at 70 Hudson Yards, WeWork taking 259,000 square feet at 1440 Broadway, Piper Sandler Companies inking a 136,000-square-foot deal at 1301 Avenue of the Americas, Cushman & Wakefield securing 133,541 square feet for its new headquarters at 31 West 52nd Street, and The Farmer’s Dog signing a 58,800-square-foot lease at 568 Broadway. 

“The Manhattan office market unquestionably made major strides towards recovery in 2025,” Franklin Wallach, executive managing director of research and business development for Colliers in New York, told Commercial Observer via email. “While Manhattan has never claimed to be a homogenous market, there were positive signs across Midtown, Midtown South and Downtown, although each of these three markets is moving at a different pace. As we approach the final months of 2025, there is no question that this combination of healthy demand and tightening supply must continue for full recovery to be achieved.”

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