Office Market Challenges Don’t Slow Manhattan’s $100-Plus Office Lease Deal Volume
In addition to the multiple big block office lease deals announced during the last few weeks of 2023, recently released statistics indicate that last year boasted a record high volume of tenants signing $100-plus-per-square-foot office leases in Manhattan. The 192 leases were spread across 5.6 million square feet of office space, accounting for just over 25% of the total square feet of office space leased in 2023. The financial services industry, particularly private equity firms and hedge funds, accounted for 80% of all $100-plus leasing. The trend has diverged from the ongoing challenges facing the office market nationwide as vacancy rates reach record high levels amid stalled return-to-office rates and economic uncertainty has spurred a downsizing by big tech firms that had previously led market leasing activity.