Manhattan office vacancy rate stablizes

Manhattan’s office vacancy rate began to stabilize in March after two months of increases, according to the latest numbers from commercial real estate brokerage Cassidy Turley (see the full report below). Overall, the vacancy rate in the borough came in at 11.3 percent, while Class A buildings posted 12.3 percent availability, the report says, both unchanged from February’s figures. Office asking rents also leveled off in March, with the overall Manhattan average at $48.34 per square foot for the second straight month, following four months of growth. Class A office space did see another uptick in asking rents, however — its sixth in a row. In March, Class A rents rose to $59.60 per square foot, from $59.45 per square foot one month ago. That’s also the highest average asking rent for Class A Manhattan space since one year ago, when the average was $61.98 per square foot. TRD