Manhattan, NY Office Overview
Manhattan is the most densely populated borough of New York City and includes the submarkets of Downtown Manhattan and Midtown Manhattan. The market has a significant impact on global commerce, with the commercial real estate market being powered by the finance, media, art, fashion, entertainment and technology industries.
As of mid-2017, the market contains over 465 million square feet of existing space in properties larger than 50,000 square feet. Home to Wall Street and the Financial District, the commercial real estate market here 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 inventory consists of 1,285 buildings and over 465 million square feet of office space - 68% of which is Class A+ or Class A, and nearly 31% Class B 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 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 are as diverse as the people, business and industry in New York and include neighborhoods such as Chelsea, Harlem, TriBeCa 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. The developments in the Hudson Yards neighborhood also contribute to local inventory.
Manhattan, NY Commercial Inventory Breakdown
Office Spaces
Total: 539,778,499 SF
By square footage range:
- 50k to 100k SF: 29,391,871 SF / 5.45% of total office
- 100k to 500k SF: 162,237,717 SF / 30.06% of total office
- 500k to 1M SF: 123,180,310 SF / 22.82% of total office
- > 1M SF: 224,968,601 SF / 41.68% of total office
By class:
- Class A+: 142,796,811 SF / 26.45% of total office
- Class A: 213,569,406 SF / 39.57% of total office
- Class B: 149,293,527 SF / 27.66% of total office
- Class C: 8,374,864 SF / 1.55% of total office
Top 10 Largest Office Buildings
in Manhattan
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 Water Street | 55 Water Street, 10004 | 3,642,167 | 1973 |
| 111 Eighth Avenue | 111 8th Avenue, 10011 | 2,950,000 | 1931 |
| 50 Hudson Yards | 415 10th Avenue, 10001 | 2,900,000 | 2022 |
| The Spiral | 66 Hudson Blvd, 10001 | 2,800,000 | 2022 |
| 3 World Trade Center | 175 Greenwich Street, 10006 | 2,800,000 | 2018 |
| 2 World Trade Center | 200 Greenwich Street, 10006 | 2,800,000 | n/a |
| 15 Penn Plaza | 401 7th Avenue, 10001 | 2,800,000 | n/a |
| Paramount Plaza | 1633 Broadway, 10019 | 2,643,066 | 1972 |
| One New York Plaza | 1 New York Plaza, 10004 | 2,583,000 | 1969 |
| 4 World Trade Center | 4 World Trade Center, 10006 | 2,500,000 | 2013 |
Most Recently-Built Office Buildings
in Manhattan
| Office building | Address | Sqft | Year built |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35 Hudson Yards | 560 West 33rd Street, 10001 | 556,968 | 2019 |
| The Malt House | 461 West 126th Street, 10027 | 200,000 | 2019 |
| Solar Carve Tower | 40 10th Avenue, 10014 | 139,000 | 2019 |
| 257-263 West 34th Street | 257 West 34th Street, 10123 | 42,678 | 2019 |
| 3 World Trade Center | 175 Greenwich Street, 10006 | 2,800,000 | 2018 |
| 55 Hudson Yards | 550 West 34th Street, 10001 | 1,278,997 | 2018 |
| 375 Pearl | 375 Pearl Street, 10038 | 1,149,500 | 2018 |
| 787 11th Avenue | 787 11th Avenue, 10019 | 513,638 | 2018 |
| NYU Langone Medical Center Science Building | 435 East 30th Street, 10016 | 365,000 | 2018 |
| 512W22 | 510 West 22nd Street, 10011 | 172,700 | 2018 |
Manhattan, NY Green Office Space
Less than 1% of the office buildings in the borough are LEED certified, which some may find surprising, given that this is what many would argue is the #1 office market in the world. However, the amount of green inventory has been increasing as of late.
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 building in the area. Tenants seeking Class A space are more likely to demand LEED certified space 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 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 buildings 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 white-collar employment.
- Corporate Headquarters – The borough 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 market has evolved into the nation's “Silicon Alley,” with Verizon Communications, Pfizer and Eli Lilly Company as just three examples.
- Tourism & Real Estate – The area 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 Population1,598,291
- Male Population(47.3 %) 756,171
- Female Population(52.7 %) 842,120
- Median Age37.00
Income/Financial
- Average Household Income$130,595
- Median Household Income$109,037
- Median Income Under 25$49,375
- Median Income 25-44$136,295
- Median Income 45-64$113,833
- Median Income Over 65$47,141
News
Main Takeaways Mountain View – Shoreline was the nation’s most expensive submarket in 2019, with an average sale price of $1,554 per square foot of office space. The average sale price for a square foot of office space in the U.S. was $233. The 10 most expensive submarkets were in California, Ne...
Sales activity in the Manhattan office market decreased 12% year-over-year, with total sales volume dropping to just under $2.8 billion. After gaining significant traction in Q3, Manhattan office sales dropped by more than $1 billion quarter-over-quarter. Highlights: Y-o-Y, the average price per...
A decade is a long time, and so much has occurred in our country and around the world in the last 10 years. In particular, rising real estate prices have been one of the prevailing themes throughout the 2010s. Coming off the heels of the Great Financial Crisis, the U.S. economy has trended upwar...