The overall vacancy rate for office space in Manhattan increased slightly from 10.
8 to 10.
9 percent as more space came online in the downtown area.
Midtown showed increasing stability and asking rates even improved but its strength was unable to counter the downtown market which pulled asking rates lower for another quarter.
The story of Manhattan continues to be a tale of two cities as Midtown and Downtown are on opposite ends of the spectrum.
Downtown continues to be very affordable with rates declining as a result of oversupply while Midtown saw a rate increase in Q3 as some sectors begin a slight rebound and firms moved north to take advantage of lower rates.
Downtown's current market situation can be summed up by the fact that the vacancy rate jumped more than 20 percent from 9.
9 to 12.
1 percent.
2 million square feet of office space was added in the third quarter, mainly from financial firms vacating existing space, which swelled vacancy rates to more than 12 percent.
While downtown continues to look bleak, Midtown is looking brighter every quarter.
Businesses looking to lease space in Manhattan or looking to renegotiate an existing lease should really begin to look at what's out there in the market.
If you're looking for space in Midtown, you need to begin the process of finding or renegotiating for space right now to lock in great rates.
If you need space in Downtown, you can probably afford to wait a little bit longer as rates may decrease further but considering the length of the commercial leasing process you should consult a tenant representative.