Winning The Amenities Arms Race In The Battle For Manhattan’s Occupiers

Gabrielle McMillan, CEO of Equiem

NEW YORK CITY—A recent report from Cushman & Wakefield revealed that Manhattan office leasing activity soared to the highest level in four years in the third quarter of this year, with 9.6 million square feet of space transacted. Reflective of the buoyancy of the local employment market which increased by 53,000 jobs last year, the stats indicate that 2018 is a good time to own office space in New York City.

But dig a little deeper and what’s clear is that those numbers only tell half the story. Despite the strong leasing activity, vacancy actually increased in Q3 as total available space reached the highest quarterly level in four years. Yes, demand is high, but with even more office space hitting the market this quarter, so is supply, and whilst some landlords are enjoying the good times, others are struggling to make hay while the sun shines.