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Lee NYC’s James Wacht on a “Very Active” Leasing Market
“We’re seeing a very active market” at present, up significantly by comparison to even six months ago, said New York leasing veteran James Wacht, president of Lee & Associates NYC. All the more reason for Lee NYC to hold its first-ever symposium on leasing, set for Oct. 29 at Club 101, 101 Park Ave. in Midtown.
It’s a leasing market that’s somewhat bifurcated in terms of velocity among office and retail, Wacht told Connect Media. In the latter sector, fewer deals are getting done, tenants are opting for shorter lease terms, including pop-ups, and they’re also expecting more concessions before signing.
That wasn’t always the case, said Wacht. In years past, “the moderate-credit or no-credit retail tenant couldn’t expect much from anybody.”
Even so, Lee NYC’s retail brokerage team remains busy. “The smart tenants are, by and large, quietly out there making deals,” the firm’s Peter Braus told the New York Post recently. “Everyone likes to talk about the ‘retail apocalypse,’ but the reality is that tenants are seeing the value [as owners drop rents and offer concessions] and making smart transactions.”
For office landlords, there isn’t comparable pressure, although “concession packages are still pretty decent,” said Wacht. Yet, while tenant demand is strong across all office-using sectors, naturally the demand is stronger in some than in others.
Coworking providers represent “the quickest growing sector,” with everyone from WeWork to its smaller competitors expanding across Manhattan and the outer boroughs, Wacht said. More generally, he observed, “The other tenants are doing fine, but not growing like the TAMI sector.”
With both tenants—especially those that are relatively new to the process of finding office space—and landlords welcome to attend, the Oct. 29 symposium will discuss “the issues they have to consider” in that search for space, said Wacht.
Although audience members will hear from leasing professionals, they’ll also gain insights from experts in accounting, interior architecture and real estate law. All of these disciplines are integral components of the process of zeroing in on a space that meets the tenant’s requirements, Wacht pointed out.
To RSVP to the event, please send an email to [email protected].
For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny
