SADDLE BROOK, NJ—The New Jersey office market continued to stabilize during the third quarter, primarily driven by bullish activity in the financial services and insurance sectors supplemented by strong activity in the publishing and marketing industries, according to the CBRE New Jersey Office MarketView Report. While market conditions have generally remained consistent, the Q3 transaction highlights bode well for New Jersey's office market in the coming quarters.

During the quarter, five major transactions led the way in office leasing activity: John Wiley & Sons renewed 386,000 square feet at 111 River Street in Hoboken; Royal Bank of Canada picked up 193,067 square feet at 30 Hudson Street in Jersey City; Prudential Financial significantly expanded its footprint in Newark; United Water picked up 116,360 square feet at 461 From Road in Paramus; and Active Media renewed 96,500 square feet at 1 Blue Hill Plaza in Pearl River.

The average asking lease rate, now at $24.75 per square feet, has increased for four consecutive quarters and is at its highest since Q3 2009. The market closed the quarter with 1.39 million square feet of new leasing activity, with the state's core submarkets – Waterfront, Morristown, Princeton, Parkway Corridor and Central Bergen – continuing to attract the majority of demand from investors. Office properties in these key submarkets account for more than one-third of the total New Jersey office inventory and have attracted approximately 56% of the state's leasing velocity to date in 2014.