Manhattan, NY Office Space for Lease or Rent

Manhattan, NY Office Overview

Manhattan is the most densely populated borough of New York City and includes the submarkets of Downtown/Lower Manhattan, Midtown Manhattan, and Uptown/Upper Manhattan. The market has a significant impact on global commerce, with the Manhattan, N.Y. commercial real estate market being powered by the finance, media, art, fashion, entertainment and technology industries.

As of mid-2017, the office market in Manhattan contains over 465 million square feet of existing office space in properties larger than 50,000 square feet. Home to Wall Street and the Financial District, the commercial real estate market in Manhattan is one of the strongest in the world.

Manhattan, NY Office Inventory Description

During the first few months of this year, leasing activity in Downtown Manhattan alone has surpassed 2.3 million square feet in transaction volume. The existing office inventory in Manhattan consists of 1,285 buildings and over 465 million square feet of Manhattan office space - 68% of which is Class A+ or Class A office space, and nearly 31% Class B office inventory.

Home to the financial center of the world and the World Trade Center, leasing transactions in Lower Manhattan continue to drive the vacancy rates down. Recent Lower Manhattan leasing activity at 200 Vesey Street, 28 Liberty Street and 1 Liberty Plaza alone account for over 1 million square feet of space leased.

The office submarkets of Manhattan are as diverse as the people, business and industry in New York and include neighborhoods such as Chelsea, the Flatiron and Garment Districts, Murray Hill and Soho. Office buildings in Chelsea, such as 5 Manhattan West and the Iron Works, continue to command top dollar for rents, as does 8 West 40th Street in the Garment District.

Manhattan, NY Commercial Inventory Breakdown

Office Spaces

Total: 525,463,594 SF

Data provided by Yardi Matrix, properties over 50k SF, includes office with retail

By square footage range:

50k to 100k SF: 27,590,799 SF / 5.25% of total office
100k to 500k SF: 157,532,207 SF / 29.98% of total office
500k to 1M SF: 119,707,069 SF / 22.78% of total office
> 1M SF: 220,633,519 SF / 41.99% of total office

By class:

Class A+: 142,023,349 SF / 27.03% of total office
Class A: 208,013,771 SF / 39.59% of total office
Class B: 147,318,857 SF / 28.04% of total office
Class C: 7,557,874 SF / 1.44% of total office

Manhattan, NY Green Office Space

Less than 1% of the office buildings in Manhattan are LEED certified, which some may find surprising, given that this is what many would argue is the #1 office market in the world. But as home to the global financial center of Wall Street and the United Nations Headquarters green office space in Manhattan is a trend that is continuing to grow..

Along the Avenue of the Americas, the Time-Life Building at 1271 Avenue Of The Americas holds a LEED-silver certification and the Hearst Tower at 300 West 57th Street in Midtown became the first LEED-platinum commercial office buildings in Manhattan. Tenants seeking Class A space are more likely to demand LEED certified office space in Manhattan from landlords, as the Leadership in Energy and Efficiency Design designation emphasizes an overall efficiency status..

The 2017 National Green Building Adoption Index looked at commercial office properties in 30 major U.S. markets and found that, including EPA Energy Star-labeled buildings, the percentage of green certification has increased from under 5% in 2005 to 38% as of mid-2017.

Manhattan, NY’s Top Office-Using Sectors

The Manhattan office market remains robust, due to its status as the cultural, financial, media and entertainment capital of the world. Global investors from all parts of the world are attracted to Manhattan and help contribute to the metropolitan area's annual gross domestic product of over $1.2 billion.

Class A office buildings in Manhattan larger than 50,000 square feet see continuous demand from both investors and tenants in the major business sectors of finance, corporate headquarters, technology and bio-tech, tourism, media and real estate.

Finance – As headquarters for the U.S. financial industry, Lower Manhattan is home to NASDAQ, New York Stock Exchange, and New York Board of Trade, which greatly contribute to Manhattan, New York’s high rate of white collar office-working employment.
Corporate Headquarters – Manhattan, NY is home to the greatest number of corporate headquarters of any city in the U.S., with companies such as American Express and Bank of America.
Technology & Bio-Tech – The Manhattan office market has evolved into the nation's “Silicon Alley,” with Verizon Communications, Pfizer and Eli Lilly Company as just three examples.
Tourism & Real Estate – Manhattan is home to some of the world's most valuable office buildings, including Time Warner Center and the Waldorf Astoria New York hotel.
Media – World-renowned publications such as the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Village Voice all call Manhattan home.

Manhattan Demographics

Population

Total Population1,619,886
Male Population(47.3 %) 766,241
Female Population(52.7 %) 853,645
Median Age36.40

Income/Financial

Average Household Income$124,909
Median Household Income$106,056
Median Income Under 25$48,990
Median Income 25-44$132,284
Median Income 45-64$102,656
Median Income Over 65$44,277

News

Manhattan Office Sales in Q2 2019 Just Short of $2B, Trophy Office Space Leases Hit $94/Sq.Ft.

August 06, 2019

Executive Summary Office sales volume drops 26% y-o-y, closes Q2 at $1.9 billion Average sale prices drop to $556/sq.ft., lowest in five years Google buys Milk Building for $592 million in largest Q2 office transaction Average asking price for trophy office space hits $94/Sq.Ft. in Q2, A+ vacanc...

Largest US Beauty Retailer Signs Lease with Largest NYC Landlord

August 05, 2019

SL Green Realty announced signing Ulta Beauty Inc., to the retail roster at 2 Herald Square. The deal puts the largest beauty retailer in the U.S. in a 12,040-square-foot store located at the intersection of Sixth Avenue, Broadway, and 34th Street. This highly coveted corner of Herald Square is ...

Office Building of the Week: The New York Times Building

July 22, 2019

Located at the junction of Eighth Avenue and 40th and 41st Streets, The New York Times Building is the 8th tallest construction in The Big Apple, situated in famous Times Square. It serves as the state-of-the-art headquarters of one of the most prominent newspapers in the world, The New York Tim...

Office Space for Rent in Manhattan, NY - 1,730 Listings