REBNY Releases Manhattan’s Spring 2021 Retail Report
The Manhattan Spring 2021 retail report recently released by the Real Estate Board of New York, reflects a “cautious optimism regarding the direction of the New York City economy and real estate market in the first half of 2021.” Attributing to improving signs are the increasing COVID vaccination rates; a rise in tourist sightings and hotel occupancy rates; and restrictions that are shifting from mandated to optional. Among the 17 corridors studied, 16 registered a year-over-year decrease in asking rent, however the pace of the rent adjustment is moderating. Looking ahead, REBNY’s report points out that “signs of a nascent recovery are tempered by the reality that traffic in most retail corridors is far from approaching pre-pandemic levels;” and a “sustained momentum requires an accelerated returns of employees to the office, the resurgence of tourists, and the opening of cultural and entertainment venues.”