C&W: Office Will Heat Up in the Summer

NEW YORK CITY-In many ways, the nation’s largest office market is a microcosm of the national picture. For Manhattan, “2013 will be another average year, with greater improvement likely in the second half,” according to Cushman & Wakefield. The firm fielded both national and local experts Friday to discuss the US office landscape as it issued its year-end report on the sector, and the key takeaways for both Manhattan and the nation as a whole were similar: look to the second half of the year for leasing activity to gather steam.

Nationally, “The good news is that absorption has been positive, but slightly less positive” than in 2011, said Maria Sicola, head of US research for C&W. Although rent growth overall has been flat when both CBD and suburban markets are factored in, conversely rents have not been declining, she said. C&W cited Midtown South, Boston and San Francisco as markets that have been seeing strong rent growth; the outlook for all three is positive as the current year progresses.