Manhattan office leasing volume expanded to 9.42 million square feet in Q3, up 2.0% quarter-over-quarter. This pushed year-to-date leasing volume to 30.05 million square feet, establishing the strongest YTD leasing velocity seen in Manhattan since 2002. Driven by robust Class A absorption, the overall Manhattan availability rate compressed by 80 basis points to 14.6%. This represented the sixth consecutive quarter of tightening—the longest consecutive inventory decline since 2014. Net absorption reached positive 4.41 million square feet, and sublet supply drained by a net 1.33 million square feet to touch its lowest level since June 2020.

Midtown South extended its dominance as the premier velocity corridor, capturing 4.29 million square feet of leasing demand—a staggering 47.8% explosion year-over-year. Average asking rents in Midtown South climbed to $79.22 per square foot, tracking as the highest across all Manhattan submarkets. This momentum was heavily anchored by the return of mega-tenant commitments exceeding 500,000 square feet, which had been largely absent post-pandemic:

• NYU: 1,080,000 square feet (full-building) at 770 Broadway in Midtown South.

• Jane Street Group: 984,000 square feet at 250 Vesey Street in the World Financial Center.

• Deloitte: 807,000 square feet at 70 Hudson Yards.

• Piper Sandler: 140,000 square feet at 1301 Sixth Avenue in Midtown West.