Manhattan Office Availability Lowest Since 2020 as Brisk Leasing Continues

Manhattan office leasing activity hit 3.6 million square feet in October, an increase from 2.71 million in September, and above the 10-year monthly average of 2.72 million square feet, according to the latest data from Colliers.   

“That’s a very healthy single month of leasing,” said Frank Wallach, executive managing director at Colliers. “Now, one month alone is not a trend … but in the month of October, there were some very encouraging signs on multiple fronts that point towards near recovery, and in some areas solid recovery.”

October brought news of some large lease deals including electronic payment company Stripe expanding to 285,997 square feet at 28 Liberty Street, artificial intelligence platform Harvey AI signing a lease for almost 93,000 square feet at One Madison Avenue, and Scale AI taking roughly 80,000 square feet on the 74th and 75th floors of One World Trade Center.

Overall, Manhattan’s available inventory decreased to less than 76 million square feet in October, its lowest level since late 2020. Manhattan also saw a decline in sublease inventory, according to the Colliers data, falling below the level of sublease supply recorded in March 2020, the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although there was a small decline in leasing velocity compared to October 2024, the year 2025 as a whole is shaping up to be the strongest post-pandemic year of office leasing activity for the borough. If office activity stays on its current course, it could exceed 40 million square feet for the first time since 2019, according to Colliers. 

“The year-to-date leasing activity from Jan. 1, 2025, through Oct. 31, 2025, was 33.69 million square feet, and that already surpasses all of 2024,” Wallach said. “And 2024 was the strongest in the post-pandemic period.” 

Although there are only two full months left of 2025, Wallach cautions that things can always change quickly. Still, he is optimistic about what the rest of the year has in store for Manhattan office leasing.

“If I knew exactly how November and December would end, they’d give me a much bigger office,” he quipped. “But I will say that typically the fourth quarter is a very busy quarter. There’s a few constants in the 400-year history of the Manhattan office market, and one of the almost guaranteed constants is a notable uptick in activity in the period between roughly Thanksgiving and New Year’s.”

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