NEW YORK CITY-Solid leasing throughout Manhattan in the first half of this year has the borough on track to pull off 28 million square feetof activity by year-end, according to Joseph Harbert, president, eastern region, Colliers International. In 2012, the total amount of leasing was 24 million square feet. The prediction was made during Colliers International's mid-year briefing on Tuesday, which had an optimistic tone.

“April was a blockbuster month and the second quarter was phenomenal,” he said. “It was the best one we've had in overall Manhattan for the last four years.” Year-to-date, there's been nearly 14.5 million square feet leased. In an informal poll at the briefing, approximately six Colliers brokers agreed with Harbert's forecast that leasing activity will nearly double this year.

Thus far, much of the activity has been in Midtown, and 80% of the year's leasing has been to ink new deals, rather than renewals. In sharp contrast to recent reports, media is not one of the sectors that carried the day, with growth there dipping precipitously from 21.7% in the first half of 2012 to just 5.5% in the first half of this year. Still, it's not time to sound alarms just yet, a Colliers broker noted. “It's just an accident of timing,” said Robert Freedman, chairman, tri-state. Harbert agreed, noting that the impendingTime Warner move, whenever it's completed, could take up as much as 2 million square feet.