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Office:
Manhattan’s office market performed well in Q1 2026, totaling 11.6 million square feet in leases. The largest transaction was Bank of America’s 2.4 million-square-foot renewal. Availability for Midtown Class A space dropped to 13.7%, while AI firms accounted for over 600,000 square feet of activity.

Retail:
Prime retail corridors, such as SoHo (at 84% occupancy) are filling up, with demand being driven by experiential retail stores attracting customers back to physical locations.

Sales:
Manhattan Trophy and Class A property pricing remains strong thanks to rent growth, but Class B and C assets face heavy concessions. Many Class B/C office buildings are likely candidates for residential conversion or land-value trades. Sales of obsolete office assets are anticipated to increase following the Midtown South rezoning.

New York Market Overview

Office:

  1. Median office sale discount in Q1 2026: 26% below prior sale prices. A major improvement from 51% median discounts in 2024-2025. Remote work remains the core cause of the multi-year collapse in office demand. Landlords have spent years repositioning assets, adding amenities, or converting them to residential use.
  2. Bank of America leased 600,000 sq ft at 1 Bryant Park.
  3. Anthropic is about to expand its office space in New York City and is close to leasing 466,000 square feet at 330 Hudson Street.
  4. Clay leased 163,000 sf at 11 Madison Avenue.
  5. Carlyle Group leased 150,000 sf at 245 Park Avenue.
  6. Latham & Watkins leased 131,000 sf at 1285 Sixth Avenue.
  7. Harvey AI Corporation leased 93,000 sf at 1 Madison Avenue.
  8. Optiver leased 92,000 sf at 360 Park Avenue South.
  9. Snowflake leased 83,000 sf at 7 Times Square.
  10. Datasite leased 76,000 sf at 3 Columbus Circle.
  11. Gate Gourmet leased 63,000 sf at 95D Inip Drive.
  12. Point72 Asset Management leased 60,000 sf at 66 Hudson Boulevard.
  13. Robin Hood signed a 30-year lease for 53,000 square feet at 841 Broadway.
  14. A 9,900-square-foot sublease on the 73rd floor of One Vanderbilt is asking $350 per square foot. GFL Environmental currently leases the space.
  15. An affiliate of Apollo Global Management signed a 10-year lease for an additional 50,000 square feet at 590 Madison Avenue.
  16. Adyen leased 90,000 square feet at 111 Fifth Avenue.
  17. Climate Solutions leased 20,000-square-foot lease at 111 Fifth Avenue.
  18. HBeyond signed a 10-year lease for $327.50-per-square-foot, covering 5,063 square feet on the 50th floor at 757 Fifth Avenue.


Retail:

  1. Hydrogen Fitness leased 17,000 sf at 145 East 32nd Street in Kips Bay.
  2. Meta leased 15,000 sf at 697 Fifth Avenue in the Plaza District.
  3. Delmonico's leased 11,700 sf at 1330 Sixth Avenue in the Plaza District.
  4. Le Colonial leased 9,600 sf at 50 West 57th Street in the Plaza District.
  5. Stuf Storage leased 7,800 sf at 10 Astor Place in Noho.
  6. Lungi leased 7,500 sf at 31-19 Newton Avenue in Astoria.
  7. Escapology leased 7,300 sf at 45 Rockefeller Plaza in the Plaza District.
  8. Maman leased 6,600 sf at 66 Water Street.
  9. Yoga Joint leased 6,400 sf at 470 Park Avenue South in the Garment District.
  10. Jack Doyle's Pub & Restaurant leased 6,300 sf at 240 West 35th Street in Penn Plaza.


🤝
Tenant Representation: Optimal Spaces acts exclusively as a "Tenant Broker," only representing tenants, never landlords.
⚖️
Unbiased Service: Avoiding conflicts of interest, they provide impartial service, showing a wider range of properties and negotiating the best price.
🗂️
Comprehensive Process: Agents guide clients end-to-end, offering market surveys, floor plans, pricing expectations, and industry contacts.
🐷
Cost Savings: They negotiate rental price and identify/abate "hidden costs."

Why Optimal Spaces –
Tenant Broker

✓
  • No fee for clients renting space.
  • We work for YOU, not the landlord.
  • Save 15–20% on your business costs.
  • Save 100–200 hours of research.
  • Access to all available spaces.
  • Specialized real estate expertise.

Alone or with other broker

✕
  • Miss deals and hard-to-find spaces.
  • Potential conflict of interest (often represent landlords).
  • Only 10% of available spaces are online.
  • Lack of specialized expertise.
  • May not get the best terms or uncover hidden costs.
Why Use a Tenant Broker: Your Advocate in Commercial Real Estate
1. The Crucial Distinction: Whose Side Are They On?
Landlord Rep (Listing Agent) — Fiduciary Duty: Landlord. Highest rent, best terms for landlord.
Tenant Rep (Tenant Broker) — Fiduciary Duty: Tenant Only. Lowest rent, best terms for tenant. Levels the playing field.
2. It Almost Always Costs You Nothing
3. Access to “Hidden” Inventory
4. Negotiating Beyond Base Rent
Landlord pays the broker fee — free expert representation for the tenant.
Access to hidden inventory: off-market listings, subleases, and future availabilities via broker databases and networks.
Negotiating beyond base rent: free rent, TI allowance, OPEX caps, and lease flexibility for renewal or expansion.
5. Time Savings & Process Management
6. Mitigating Risk (the “Gotchas”)
Tenant broker handles searching, scheduling, and RFPs — your outsourced real estate department with curated options and timeline management.
Mitigating risk: spotting pitfalls in LOI and lease such as restoration clauses and holdover penalties.
Summary: Don’t rely on the landlord’s agent. A tenant broker is your advocate, provides better data, negotiates a complete package, and typically costs you nothing.
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