A new report from Avison Young shows that there has been a halt on leasing activity in Long Island, with this year’s volume following 42% below the 20-year annual average.
Despite many analysts predicting an uptick in suburban leasing due to people wanting a workspace closer to home, this theory does not seem to apply to Long Island.
“There is no modern precedent for the post-Covid slowdown in Long Island leasing activity due to the sudden change in office occupiers’ future workplace strategies and the 2020 recession,” the report said.
The report finds that Long Island isn’t the only suburban office market that seems to be suffering as a result from the pandemic. New Jersey also saw its vacancy rate grow to 18.8% during the second quarter, which includes 9.1 million square feet of empty space up for sublease.
It doesn’t help that Manhattan’s office availability recently hit a record high of 17.1% at the end of May. In Long Island, vacancies grew by 3% to 9.4% from the end of 2020.
