CBRE: Manhattan Office Rents Up, Leasing Volume Down in First Quarter

Nicole LaRusso, director of Research & Analysis for CBRE Tri-State.

NEW YORK CITY—Despite a modest downturn in leasing activity, the overall office market in Manhattan remains strong with average asking rents in the first quarter of this year in Midtown, Midtown South and Downtown increasing 10%, 8% and 3% quarter-over-quarter.

Commercial brokerage firm CBRE released a series of MarketViews reports today that covered the three major submarkets in Manhattan. Leasing activity in all three markets was down, however, both large and mid-sized deals fueled 2 million square feet of lease deals Downtown, which was 52% above the five-year quarterly average, but down 6% from leasing totals registered in the fourth quarter of 2018.