New York & Tri-State + Office | March 22, 2021

Manhattan Office Demand Picks Up, Led by Finance Tenants

Manhattan’s office market has begun picking up, with lower rents and concessions pushing some companies to seek space after months of remote work, Crain’s New York Business reported.

The number of new requests per week from companies seeking space has jumped 57% this year, compared with the average from July and November, according to data from VTS. Finance firms account for the majority of the demand, with interest concentrated in Midtown.

“There are signs everywhere of activity sprouting,” Michael Cohen, president of the tristate region for Colliers International, told Crain’s. “But we have such an accumulated oversupply that in spite of all the activity, there’s going to be some bargains and a lot of folks taking advantage of that.”

However, many currently active tenants want less space. Square footage requests by finance companies are down 10% on average from pre-pandemic levels, while tech firms are seeking 31% less space.

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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