Manhattan Office Supply Hits Another Record Even as NYC Opens Up

One World Trade Center and the lower Manhattan skyline along the waterfront in Jersey City, New Jersey, U.S., on Monday, April 5, 2021. U.S. futures edged higher while most Asian stocks climbed as investors digested Friday’s unexpectedly strong jobs report. Photographer: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

Natalie Wong, Bloomberg News

Jun 1, 2021

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(Bloomberg) -- Manhattan’s supply of office space has reached a fresh record even as leasing picks up.

The availability rate rose for a 12th consecutive month in May to 17%, according to Colliers. Since the pandemic started last March, the amount of space up for grabs jumped 70% to a total of 92 million square feet (8.5 million square meters).

There are signs that demand is turning a corner. Leasing climbed 8% from last May, while average asking rents ticked up 0.4% to $73.26 a square foot.

After more than a year of empty skyscrapers, Manhattan’s office market is slowly coming back to life as social-distancing restrictions ease. Roughly 18% of office workers in the New York metro area were back at their desks as of May 26, according to data from Kastle Systems. Companies including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Facebook Inc. are preparing for a broader return this summer.

Offices listed for subleasing represented 23% of total availability, the lowest share since July, according to Colliers. Even so, the amount of sublease space is 75% more than in March 2020.

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