New York Market Overview

Midtown Manhattan, Class A office vacancy decreased in November to 11.1 percent, its lowest level since 2008.The momentum seems to have generally slowed since the first half of the year. Class A average asking rents increased marginally for the month to $70.36 per square foot. In Midtown South however, Class A vacancy rose to 6.3 percent from 4.6 percent last month largely due to the addition of a large block of space at 101 Sixth Avenue at Hudson Square.

While the strength of Manhattan's high-end condominium market is strong the same cannot be said for sales of less than $1 million. While the fourth-quarter is historically a slower sales season, volume is down 12 percent this year from the prior-year quarter. That decline was keyed by plummeting sales figures for condos, as co-op sales figures were short just 1.3 percent from last year's fourth-quarter. Overall, closed condo sales sunk 24 percent from the final three months of 2010, and more than 30 percent for sales worth less than $1 million.