Midtown South experienced its eighth consecutive month of negative net absorption, as 18,594 square feet of space was returned to the market. That brings the year-to-date net absorption total to negative 4.7 million square feet. The availability rate increased slightly to 13.3% from 13.2% in the previous month, and was up from 8.3% reported one year ago, according to Newmark

Asking rents continued to decline month-over-month in all three submarkets. CBRE put the average figures at $57.94 per square foot in Midtown, versus $59.30 in July; $42.68 per square foot in Midtown South, compared to $43.49 in July; and $40.20 per square foot Downtown, off from the July average of $41.19. The sharpest year-over-year decline on a percentage basis was for Midtown, where the August tally was down more than 30% from a year ago.

However, Colliers says class A asking rents in Manhattan actually "squeaked out a slight increase" in August, climbing to an average $64.36 per square foot, up 19 cents from $64.17 per square foot in July. Summing up the evidence of greater vitality as "welcome news," Colliers' director of research, Robert Sammons, notes in the report that "it does not necessarily mean the Manhattan real estate market is out of the woods yet."

For one thing, several major blocks of space are expected to become available over the remainder of the year. In addition, writes Sammons, "the economy in general has not yet righted itself as local and national job layoffs continue. Expect an unsteady market for the remainder of the year with Manhattan leasing activity somewhat stronger, due primarily to tenants pushed against lease expirations and/or tempted by lower rents, but net absorption remaining deep in the negative column."