Vornado's FFO Climbs as Manhattan Office Leasing Hits a Landlord's Market

Vornado's quarter reads like a Manhattan office market tightening back toward landlords, with rents and occupancy climbing.

November 05, 2026

Good morning. Manhattan's office market keeps tilting back toward landlords, and Vornado's latest quarter reads like a victory lap. Funds from operations climbed, new leases cleared $123 a foot, and management says the run has room to go.

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INVESTOR SENTIMENT

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Market Snapshot

Most Active Neighborhood

By Deal Count

Midtown / Bedford-Stuyvesant — Tied at 7 sales each

Properties Sold

All Asset Types

133

Transaction Volume

Sales Activity

$409.4M

Top Office Submarket

Avg Starting Rent

Madison/Fifth Avenue

$177.73 / SF

Manhattan Office Rent

Avg Effective

$69.35 / SF

Office Rent Growth

YoY Change

-3.9%

*Office metrics courtesy of CompStak; data from 7/1/26 – 9/30/26. Sales metrics courtesy of Actovia; NYC properties reported sold during the week of 10/23/26 – 10/29/26.

Rent Power

Vornado's FFO Climbs as Manhattan Office Leasing Hits a Landlord's Market

Vornado Realty Trust says it has rarely been healthier, and its third-quarter results back the claim as Manhattan's office market tightens in owners' favor.

By the numbers: FFO rose to $126.6M from $114.5M a year earlier, with comparable FFO up 14%. Revenue climbed to $467.6M, while a $47.1M net loss mostly reflected depreciation across the office and retail portfolio.

Demand runs hot: Vornado signed 30 office deals totaling 489,000 SF in Q3 at an average starting rent of $123/SF on 9.5-year terms. Its New York office same-store NOI rose 11.9% over the year.

Penn 1 anchor: Penn 1, the 2.5M SF Midtown tower, closed 10 leases for 248,000 SF at about $123/SF. Management points to shrinking availability of quality space as the force behind the pricing.

Why it matters: CEO Steven Roth said Vornado competes for roughly 180M SF of Class A space where demand is accelerating and good availability is evaporating, and expects the strength to run through 2028.

➥ THE TAKEAWAY

Quality space calls the shots: For owners of top Manhattan product, pricing power is back, and tenants chasing the best space face fewer options at higher rents. If leasing holds near these levels, landlords will keep pressing rents from here.

Around New York

➥ Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are reportedly tightening underwriting standards on the city’s roughly 1 million rent-stabilized units after the rent freeze, though federal regulators dispute the account.

➥ Bank branches are now among Manhattan’s most coveted retail tenants, helping push prime storefront availability to a record-low 157 spaces as lenders chase street-level foot traffic.

➥ New York City’s median rent hit a record $3,785 in Q3, up 4.5% YoY, with Manhattan jumping 8.3% and keeping affordability pressure on renters.

➥ City residential foreclosure filings fell to 319 in Q3, the fewest since 2022 and down 23% YoY, bucking a national rise even as lis pendens warnings climbed 10%.

➥ Two Trees is the latest landlord hit with a 421a lawsuit, with 300 Ashland Place tenants alleging more than $30M in rent overcharges over five years.

➥ Manhattan office leasing jumped 54.1% in October to match its pre-pandemic pace, tightening availability to 12.3% and lifting asking rents to $79.47/SF.

➥ Governor Kathy Hochul won reelection over Bruce Blakeman, signaling continuity for her build-heavy housing agenda as a left-leaning Albany bloc pushes tenant-friendly bills.

➥ Sedesco paid $42M for 35 West 57th, extending a Billionaires’ Row assemblage it hopes to turn into a 443K SF tower with 119 apartments and 158 hotel rooms.

Follow the Money

MULTIFAMILYNEW YORK Continental Properties landed a $480M New York Life refinancing across 10 apartment assets, a sizable vote of confidence in stabilized rental cash flow.

MULTIFAMILYDOWNTOWN BROOKLYN A new Downtown Brooklyn multifamily tower secured a $226M loan to carry it through lease-up, underscoring lender appetite for stabilized supply in a tight submarket.

OFFICE-TO-RESIMIDTOWN EAST MetroLoft and David Werner nabbed $231M from Northwind for their 675 Third Avenue conversion, extending Midtown East’s office-to-residential wave.

MULTIFAMILYDOWNTOWN BROOKLYN Lonicera and Rabina refinanced the 43-story, 295-unit 55 Willoughby with $226M in Affinius bridge debt as the tower leases up.

OFFICEGARDEN CITY Capstone Equities locked in a $43M Goldman Sachs CMBS refinancing on the 488,835 SF Franklin Avenue Plaza, a rare suburban-office vote of confidence.

MULTIFAMILYAMITYVILLE Rechler drew a $154.25M PCCP refinancing for the 335-unit Greybarn Amityville, betting on Long Island’s thin new supply and high incomes.

📈 CHART OF THE WEEK

NYC Outer Boroughs industrial demand rebounded in Q3 2026, with 343,266 SF of positive net absorption after two quarters of losses, although year-to-date absorption remained negative at 270,000 SF.