The overall vacancy rate rose 0.5% to 6.5%, with Midtown South up 1.3% to 8.3%. Downtown and Midtown each saw increases of 2%, to 5.6% and 6.3%, respectively. Overall asking rents declined to $54.50 per sf from $55.86 per sf, with Midtown turning in the poorest performance with a $1.70 per sf loss.

Since the end of 2000, the inventory of available office space has grown by about 14 million sf, approximately 5.7 million sf of which been has taken off the market, the report says. Of the remaining 8.3 million sf, around 5.3 million sf is available for sublease, leaving 3 million sf of vacant space. That sector of the market is doing well, with around half the vacant space having been taken during the last six months.