New York Office Market Sees $3B Investor Rebound

New York office market rebounds as investors pour $3B into refinancing and acquisitions, signaling strong demand for trophy towers.

August 27, 2025

Valerija I.

Four major New York City office towers secured $3B in refinancing in recent weeks, underscoring renewed appetite for top-tier office properties.
Demand for office space in New York has surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with trophy buildings leading the recovery and availability rates falling sharply.
High-profile transactions—including Vornado’s $450M refinance of Apple’s HQ and RXR’s $1.08B acquisition of 590 Madison Avenue—signal that institutional investors see the market bottoming out.

Key Takeaways

A Market Turnaround

New York’s office market is staging a comeback, says Globe St. In recent weeks, investors have poured $3B into refinancing and acquisitions of four towers, a shift fueled by growing corporate demand for physical office space. “Office is back,” Fortress’s Mario Rivera told the Financial Times, pointing to companies pushing employees back into workplaces.

Demand Surpasses Pre-Pandemic Levels

The rebound has been building since earlier this year. In January, the VTS Office Demand Index showed New York office demand climbing 25.3% year over year, surpassing pre-pandemic levels. However, the surge remains concentrated in New York, with national demand trends still moving slowly.

Trophy Towers Lead the Charge

Prestige properties are driving the recovery. According to CoStar, availability in New York’s top-tier office buildings has dropped from 17% in early 2023 to 10.7% in mid-2025—a sharp contrast to other US cities where availability has barely moved.

Big-Ticket Deals Signal Confidence

Investors are betting heavily on prime assets:

Blackstone & Fisher Brothers: Secured $850M—including $600M in CMBS—for 1345 Sixth Avenue, anchored by law firm Paul, Weiss with an $81M annual rent commitment.
Vornado: Refinanced Apple’s New York headquarters with a $450M package.
Durst Organization: Locked in $1.3B for Times Square offices previously occupied by Condé Nast and Skadden.
RXR: Closed a $1.08B acquisition of 590 Madison Avenue, the city’s largest non-user office deal since 2018.

Financing Momentum Builds

Single-asset, single-borrower CMBS transactions are surging in New York. Bank of America reports 20 such financings so far in 2025—up from just eight in 2024 and none in 2023. The year’s largest deals, each topping $1B, involve towers such as 3 Bryant Park, 375 Park Avenue, and 200 Park Avenue.

Why It Matters

For investors, falling vacancies and rising leasing activity suggest that New York’s office market may have found its floor. “Investors are seeing declining vacancy rates and net positive leasing trends … and saying maybe we’ve identified the floor,” KKR’s Matt Salem said.