Manhattan Office Leasing Reaches 26-Year High

Manhattan office leasing volume in the third quarter of 2026 remained well above historical averages at 10.3 million square feet and marked the first time since 2002 that leasing activity exceeded 10 million square feet for four consecutive quarters, Colliers reported. Year-to-date demand reached 32.86 million square feet, the strongest comparable period since 2000.

“We absolutely have returned to office,” Franklin Wallach, executive managing director, research & business development at Colliers, told the New York Business Journal. “As tenants have come back, we’ve seen that commitment to investing in their real estate in order to attract and retain talent, which has always been an element in the Manhattan office market.”

Although the highest-profile recent deals occurred in newly built or under-development trophy office towers, JLL noted that with trophy space increasingly scarce and rents hitting records, tenants are beginning to widen their searches. “What’s changing is the tone of the conversations that we’re having with tenants,” said vice chairman Evan Margolin with JLL. “Historically, a bifurcated Manhattan workforce was not something many of my clients would consider.  But now, due to the majority of the better buildings being fully leased, clients are giving real consideration to splitting the workforce between their current building and another nearby where space can be made available.”