Manhattan Asking Rents Hold Firm

NEW YORK CITY-Midtown leasing activity here soared 103% in April from the month before to 1.64 million sf thanks to CIBC World Market’s pre-leasing at 300 Madison Ave., now under construction. CIBC is taking the entire fourth floor, approximately 1.2 million sf. That transaction aside, 1.64 million sf were leased last month, the same amount of space as in April 2000. Most of the deals were for 10,000 to 50,000 sf. These data are reported in a review of the office market released by Insignia/ESG, which breaks down leasing activity into three market sectors:

Midtown: Absorption was negative for the month, with 830,000 sf of net space coming to market, half of it concentrated in the Grand Central, Sixth Avenue/Rockefeller Center and Times Square submarkets. The availability rate rose from 4.2% a year ago to 5.5% now while average asking rents held at $60.78 per sf, up 15% from April 2000.