NEW YORK CITY—For those looking for action in the commercial real estate market in Manhattan, the West Side was the place to be in the second quarter of this year, according to new research from brokerage firm Savills Studley.

While pending leases elsewhere may tip the scales to another location later this year, the West Side captured more than 40% of deal volume during the quarter, including the six largest deals, Savills reports. Major transactions included Skadden Arps' 544,409-square-foot lease at 1 Manhattan West, Morgan Stanley's 414,759-square-foot lease at 750 Seventh Ave., WeWork's 178,441-square-foot deal at 1460 Broadway, Nike's 147,954-square-foot lease at 855 Ave. of the Americas, Foot Locker's 144,987 square-foot lease at 330 West 34th St. and WeWork's 136,118-square-foot lease at 315 West 36th St.

Savills Studley senior managing director Bill Montana says of the New York City office market in the second quarter, “Early adopters leasing space on the West Side stand to capture exceptional quality at a price that is competitive relative to much of the existing space in Midtown.”

Manhattan's class A availability rate declined by 0.5-percentage point to 12.3% in the second quarter. Midtown Class A vacancy fell 0.7 percentage point to 11.2%; Midtown South dropped 0.7 percentage point to 4.4%, while Downtown rose 0.3 percentage point to 17.8%.

The Savills Studley research report states that deal volume in New York City rose to 7.7 million square feet in the second quarter of this year, its first increase since year-end 2013. However, it stopped short of the market's long-term quarterly average of 8.3 million square feet, as leasing activity Downtown cooled during that time. Leasing on the West Side and at Hudson Yards showed strength.

According to Savills Studley's executive vice president Steve Berliner, “Class A tenants currently have ample options to pick from. Those with a lease expiration after 2017 will have even more to consider.”

The average asking rent for class A space in Manhattan rose by 2.3% to $81.26-per-square-foot with an increase of 6.3% to $90.85 in Midtown. Big blocks of space with rents ranging from $130-per-square-foot to $205-per-square-foot at 9 West 57th St., 650 Madison Ave. and 280 Park Ave. have put upward pressure on asking rents, the brokerage firm notes.