Empty Midtown Office Space Grows as Tenants Relocate

Midtown, Manhattan. Shutterstock.

NEW YORK CITY – Midtown leasing activity saw a steady decrease in volume in 2019 at an estimated 25 percent from the previous year and is on track to see the highest quarterly supply of office inventory in nearly five years with a chance it may not remain stable, Frank Wallach, senior managing director of research at Colliers International, tells GlobeSt.com.

For the year 2019, Midtown leasing volume totaled 15.8 million square feet, marking a six-year low and ended the year with an availability rate of 11.1 percent, the highest quarterly supply of office inventory in close to five years. In addition, leasing activity in Midtown was lower during the first two months of 2020 at 2.5 million square feet compared to 3.2 million square feet.