NEW YORK CITY—Whether one looks to office leasing or investment sales, the current market's good health is undeniable. Two industry professionals—both of whom will speak at RealShare New York Wednesday—marveled at the city's success and discussed the future with GlobeSt.com.

“The market is tight and getting tighter,” declares Michael Cohen, president, tri-state region, Colliers International. “Midtown South is extraordinary. There's a shortage of the kind of product the TAMI sector and millenials like, there's just not enough of it to go around.”

In Lower Manhattan, he continues, there are duel trends happening. “There are two Lower Manhattans. There are the brick and terracotta buildings—with fabulous rococo lobbies and quirky floorplates—that are in short supply as many were turned into hotels and residences. You can count on one hand the large blocks of space available in the older vintage buildings.”

The other story going on, he adds, “is the fiercely competitive environment between Brookfield Office Properties, Silverstein Properties, the Durst Organization and Fosun, the owners of the higher priced steel and glass alternatives. It's a small club and they're chasing down tenants with higher budgets. Those buildings are offering some of the finest product in the city, and they have bargain prices compared to Midtown but they're the top of the market Downtown. If you're a tenant who wants a modern financial district office with large floorplates, you can make the rounds of those landlords and play one against the other."

Meanwhile, Cohen says of Midtown, “It's a pretty tight market. It's not headline grabbing the way Hudson Yards is but the market is slow and steady. It still offers the best infrastructure in terms of transportation and amenities, and it has the largest variety of product.”

On the investment sales side, “New York City is on pace on for record year, with $75 billion in sales,” says James Nelson, vice chairman, capital markets group, Cushman & Wakefield. “The average price is $1,355 a foot, which is down slightly from 2014 but that's only cause because some record retail sales that occurred last year inflated the number.”

Several trends are driving investors to keep snapping up properties, he notes. “Low interest rates and also very strong fundamentals [are moving the market]. NYC has had record job growth: 517,000 jobs were added in last cycle.”

Also playing a part, Nelson adds, is urbanization. “About 54% of the world lives in urban areas and that number is expected to reach 60% by 2050.” But the biggest factor is the global sentiment that the US generally—and New York in particular—is a safe haven.

“We've seen record foreign investment; Cushman & Wakefield has tracked $48.8 billion of inflow to the US, quadruple what it was three years ago,” reports Nelson. “Uncertainty in Europe and Asia has driven capital our way. New York City has become the safety deposit box of the world.