Midtown offices providing vulture opportunity

The Midtown office vacancy rate reached 17 percent this July, marking a 38 percent increase from the beginning of 2009, according to data from Tenantwise, a commercial real estate tracking group, while rent-per-square foot dropped 28 percent to $58. While some claim that the commercial real estate market in Midtown isn’t as bad as the 1970s trough, New York Magazine says that Midtown Manhattan’s skyscrapers are struggling. The result is a crop of so-called vulture investors, who hope to profit off the bottom-rung prices.