New York City office
and retail Market Research

March 2020 » Market Analysis » Market Report

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April 2020

March 2020

Manhattan Office:
Covid-19 will have a negative affect on Manhattan office leasing velocity. Office leasing plans will likely be on hold until the duration and severity of the coronavirus are revealed. Working from home and alternate work sites may push long-term office demand down, as more employees work remotely.

Manhattan Retail
The coronavirus will push down retail sales in physical stores and push even more sales on line. Gyms and restaurants recently saw activity in leasing, but will likely stop as people stay away from gyms and restaurants and other crowded locations.

New York Market Overview

Manhattan Office

Asking rents rose in all submarkets in Manhattan. Average Downtown office rents were $65.70 per square foot per year. Midtown South average office rents were $77.19. The average office rents in Midtown were $85.75.
Manhattan office leasing was 3.56 million square feet, a third less than in December and 17% below the year-earlier figure.
Midtown as a whole saw 1.76 million square feet in deals, a 20% increase from December.
Midtown South’s leasing volume declined by 18% to 910,000 square feet.
Downtown leasing activity fell from 2.84 million square feet to just 890,000. Despite the slowdown, Downtown’s availability rate dropped to 10.3%, the lowest since 2008.
Midtown accounted for nearly half of Manhattan’s office leasing volume in the first month of the new decade, while activity slowed in Midtown South and Downtown.

Manhattan Retail:

The 10 biggest retail leases made public totaled 132,000 square feet, down 55% from last month’s total and 49% from the 10 largest last year in 2019.

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