Manhattan office market enjoys strong Q2

The Manhattan office market enjoyed 1.7 million square feet of positive absorption in the second quarter, wiping out the negative absorption from the first quarter, according to the latest office market report from Cassidy Turley.

Overall leasing activity reached 17.1 million square feet in the first six months of the year, a 5.1 percent year-over-year increase. Class A asking rents dropped $0.48 per square foot to $69.32, while Class B asking rents continued to rise, up 5.5 percent since the first quarter to $50.78 per square foot.

Midtown bounced back for the first time in over two years, with 29 leases with starting rents at $100 per square foot or higher signed in the first half of the year, compared to only 34 in all of last year, according to the report.

Midtown South continued its strong run, and was boosted by a major deal with Facebook at 770 Broadway. Downtown however, had a soft quarter, and saw over a million square feet of negative absorption. [Cassidy Turley]  –Hiten Samtani