Office vacancies up, rents down in Manhattan

Manhattan commercial office vacancies rose slightly and asking rents dipped, reversing improvements seen the month before, real estate analysts at brokerage Colliers ABR said in a report released today.

Vacancies rose in August by 0.1 percent to 8.7 percent and asking rents fell by 0.6 percent to $65.89 per foot, according to the firm’s August New York Office Report.

Despite the weakening economy, vacancies declined in Midtown, though they rose Downtown and in Midtown South.

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In Midtown, overall vacancies fell to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent the month before, while asking rents fell to $78.92 from $79.32 in July.

The overall vacancy rate rose by 20 basis points in Downtown office space to 8.8 percent as 283,000 square feet in the World Financial Center was made available as sublease space. At the same time, asking rents rose to $52.37 per square foot from $51.34 per foot in July.

In Midtown South, vacancies in all building classes rose to 9.9 percent from 9.6 percent, and asking rents fell to $49.16 per square foot from $49.63 per square foot.