Manhattan’s office market saw a negative absorption of 10.6 million square feet in the fourth quarter of 2020, the highest recorded since early 2009 during the Great Recession.
According to a new report from Colliers, the Manhattan office sector is seeing increased vacancy rates of 8% and a dip in asking rents to $75.30 per square foot.
Additionally, leasing activity fell by 13.4% compared to the prior quarter to 4.2 million square feet. Now, the leasing volume in the market is at 18.9 million square feet, the lowest level in this century.
However, there is a glimmer of hope in the leasing market, with renewals from NYU Langone totaling 632,628 square feet at 1 Park Avenue, Justworks Inc.’s 270,000 square foot renewal on Water Street and several others.