Report Shows Fears for Financial Services Industry

(Read more on the debt and equity markets.)

NEW YORK CITY-Even with the possibility of a downturn on the horizon, the New York City market forged ahead in August with a lower vacancy rate and a higher average asking rent, according to a recent Colliers ABR Inc. report. The report predicts that there will almost certainly be some layoffs in the financial services industry over the next few quarters and this may push into other business sectors as well.

With Lehman Brothers not taking an option on additional space at 399 Park Ave., Macquarie Bank postponing its impending space search and job losses beginning to mount in the suburbs, the tip of the iceberg has begun to appear, the report notes. Robert Sammons, director of research at Colliers ABR, tells GlobeSt.com that the hard evidence includes the two examples above; however, he notes that “more importantly, in my mind, was the anecdotal evidence gathered in speaking with several analysts at financial firms and REITs as well as economists within the New York City government.”