Manhattan Office Market Rebounded in July

NEW YORK CITY-Led by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s signing for 430,000 sf on 19 floors at 140 Broadway, Manhattan saw an upsurge in leasing activity in July compared to the month before. That transaction left just one block of contiguous space of more than 250,000 sf Downtown, according to an office market review by Insignia/ESG. Since June, Midtown activity has risen by 29%, by 15% in Downtown and by 46% in Midtown South.

Insignia’s chief operating officer, Joseph R. Harbert, notes in a prepared statement that, “Although much of the activity is still comprised of mid-sized transactions–roughly 25,000 to 50,000 sf–we are beginning to see larger companies act on their real estate needs.” He notes that there are approximately 40 companies now actively looking for 100,000 sf and above in Manhattan.

Midtown–Year-to-date, 6.76 million sf has been leased here, well below last year but down just slightly from the first half of 1999. Most of the leases signed in July were for between 10,000 sf to 50,000 sf. And although 940,000 sf of net space was added, the availability rate moved up only 0.5% to 6.9% for the month. The average asking rent is $61.18 per sf; last year its was $60.68 per sf.