Each and every day, the press provides information on companies leasing
office space in Manhattan. The articles provide the asking rent for
space, but fail to provide the reader with the most important
information in the minds of those seeking office space: actual rent,
concessions and the other terms and conditions of the new lease. “Rental rates have come down, and once again New York City is
affordable for commercial tenants,” said Glenn Markman, executive vice
president at Cushman & Wakefield. “A tenant who is in a position to
sign a lease will look back five years from today and realize that they
‘hit the market at the right time.’” Comments

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Manhattan office vacancy rates rose and asking rents fell in July after
a relatively stable June, according to a monthly office market report
from Colliers ABR released today. The Class A vacancy rate in Manhattan rose to
12.1 percent, the highest rate since June 1997. The increase in the Class A
vacancy rate was due to a rise in space available for direct lease, even as
the amount of sublease space on the market actually fell. Class A asking rent dropped
2.1 percent to $64.22 per square foot from $65.77 per square foot in
June. In Midtown, the vacancy rate rose to 13.7 percent, and was over
15 percent in the Plaza and Grand Central submarkets. The vacancy rate
hit 13.9 percent in Midtown South and 8.4 percent downtown, all
increases from June. While July saw several noteworthy leases and
renewals, most were for the same amount of space or less than the
tenant already held, according to the report. TRD