NEW YORK CITY-While Manhattan posted a total of 2.13 million square feet of leasing activity in November alone, much of that deal velocity is happening below 42nd Street. According to data from CBRE’s December 2011 MarketView Snapshot report, Midtown South topped its five-year average for the month of November—and the trend is expected to continue into the new year.

“Obviously our market is contingent upon the economy, so as long as that continues to do somewhat well, we should have a relatively good year,” Travis Yuengst, manager of New York research services at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com. “It is difficult to forecast demand, but Downtown will definitely attract more Midtown tenants.” Yuengst adds that, for the month of November, Downtown was slightly below—at 21%—but that the area was doing well on a year-to-date basis.

Fueled by the moves by WilmerHale and Conde Nast earlier in the year, companies beyond the financial services realm are beginning to re-think the Lower Manhattan office market. “There are a number of tenants looking down there,” Yuengst says, though he was unable to disclose any upcoming deals due to confidentiality agreements.