CBRE report finds Long Island office leasing market dipped in Q4

In the fourth quarter of 2018, 285,000 square feet of office space was leased across Long Island, an 11 percent drop from the previous quarter, according to data released by CBRE Group. The Q4 numbers are also 44 percent below the five-year quarterly average for Long Island. Year-over-year, however, the availability rate dropped 20 basis points to about 12 percent, but rose 60 basis points from the previous quarter. Overall leasing activity throughout 2018 totaled 1.6 million square feet, which is about 10 percent lower than the previous year. CBRE, which also recently issued office leasing market reports for Westchester and Fairfield counties, said the average asking rent on Long Island rose quarter-over-quarter to $27.34 per square foot. It also rose 2 percent, year-over-year. [CBRE]