The steady activity--which has included a number of early renewals--has helped bring stability to pricing as the slide in asking rents has tapered off, CBRE EVPs Paul Amrich and Robert Stillman said at a media briefing Wednesday morning. "The majority of people out there feel that rents are finding a bottom," Amrich said.

Manhattan leasing volume overall will probably match 1991 levels by year's end, said Stillman, while Amrich said Midtown's '09 performance will be comparable to 2002--both years being among the weakest in the past two decades. Whether that momentum carries over into 2010 is an open question; Stillman said we could see peaks and dips over the next several months. One factor that may slow down leasing velocity is landlords themselves, as they put the brakes on early renewals to avoid losing out on better rents as the market turns upward again.

Midtown's availability rate rose slightly in September to 14.9% from 14.8% in August; however, the large-scale influx of sublease space is probably over, Amrich said. The gap in the taking rent index continued to narrow, with net rents rising from 81.2% of the asking rate in August to 82.8% in September, as compared to 91.6% a year ago, according to CBRE. Average asking rents diminished by just six cents between August and September, ending the month at $57.88 per square foot. A year ago, it was $84.74.