TAMI, Government Sectors Pace Lower Manhattan Office Market

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle

NEW YORK CITY—The level of office leasing activity in Lower Manhattan has risen by a heady 51% in the first half of this year. The increase in lease deals is due primarily to expansions by TAMI (Technology, Advertising, Media and Information) and the government sectors.

Lower Manhattan’s office vacancy rate has fallen to 8.9%, the lowest level since the beginning of 2013, according to a report released by the Alliance for Downtown New York. Leasing activity in the first six months of this year reached 3.07 million square feet, more than 1 million square feet more than the 2.03 million square feet posted at the same time last year and the highest volume posted since the first six months of 2014. In fact, activity so far this year is just a little bit shy of the 3.36 million square feet of office space leased for all of 2016, according to figures supplied by brokerage firm CBRE. Leasing activity in the first half of 2013 totaled 2.46 million square feet, 3.52 million square feet in 2014, and 2.01 million square feet in 2015.