- Available Midtown office space dropped to 27.7M SF at the end of Q3, equal to the March 2020 level, making it the first NYC submarket to recover all pandemic occupancy losses.
- Manhattan Class-A asking rents reached a record $85.45 per SF, and Midtown rents rose 5.4% year over year, the fastest Q3 jump since 2014.
- AI firms leased nearly 1.1M SF in the quarter, outpacing all of 2025, while shrinking availability and conversions are ending the yearslong rise in tenant concessions.
The amount of available Midtown office space fell to 27.7M SF at the end of the third quarter, matching the March 2020 figure, according to Colliers. That makes Midtown the first NYC submarket to recover all of its pandemic occupancy losses.
Manhattan had no summer slowdown, with more than 10M SF of leases signed across the borough and the market on pace for its most active year since 2000.
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Back to 2020 Levels
Midtown’s availability rate dwindled to 11.9%, and its average asking rent is $85.08 per SF, up 5.4% year over year. That is the fastest annual Q3 increase since 2014.
Proskauer Rose signed the quarter’s biggest deal, a 478K SF expansion at 11 Times Square.
Rents Hit Records
Tightness has let Class-A owners across Manhattan push asking rents to an all-time high of $85.45 per SF. Overall availability fell 2.4% between July and October to 12.4%.
Midtown South set a Q3 record with 4.8M SF of leasing, powered by Anthropic’s 466K SF full-building lease at 330 Hudson St.
AI Demand Offsets a Slow Downtown
AI firms took nearly 1.1M SF of Manhattan office space in Q3, after 800K SF in Q2 and 790K SF in all of 2025, adding to the AI office leasing trend.
Downtown lagged, signing 850K SF of leases, 21.7% below its five-year quarterly average.
Why It Matters
Robust tenant demand and buildings converting to apartments are ending the yearslong rise in tenant concessions, putting landlords firmly in the driver’s seat.
SL Green’s Steven Durels said at the Bank of America Global CEO Real Estate Conference that rents are rising across the board, not just in the high-end part of the market. Stronger fundamentals could also support Manhattan investment sales.
What’s Next
Colliers’ Franklin Wallach said the market is entering a new chapter after hitting several critical recovery milestones. Watch whether Downtown regains momentum and whether Midtown rents keep climbing as availability tightens.
