NEW YORK CITY-As the market for prime space and high floors in top-tier buildings remains tight citywide, CB Richard Ellis predicts that the lack of quality large blocks in Manhattan will ultimately lead to new construction. At the firm’s first-quarter media briefing Thursday morning, CBRE EVP John Maher said high-end buildings will outperform others because the market is highly segmented, given limited amounts of small space in quality buildings.

“That ultimately has to drive new construction,” Maher said. “For anybody that is worried about a large volume of construction being filled, we are not. We think New York City needs it, and that would be ultimately good news for the city to capture job growth.”

According to data from CBRE, only 1.1 million square feet of space is available in top buildings on floors 25 and up, but demand for this type of space is increasing, particularly in the financial, law, media and entertainment sectors. “It’s fascinating how these deals drive psychology,” said EVP Paul Myers. “People want to know about the deals at the top end of the range, even though they often represent a small proportion of the deals in New York City.”