Manhattan office market rebounds faster than rival cities as demand surges 40%

Published

1 year ago

February 8, 2024

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Manhattans pandemic-pummeled office market is headed for a spectacular rebound — and not only landlords, but business advocates and eatery owners are thrilled.

Although the Manhattan office market hit bottom in 2023 with more than 20% vacancy rate, the short-term future looks rosier, according to a new report from national real estate technology platform VTS.

Its latest quarterly Office Demand Index (VODI) found that demand for space in the Big Apple rose nearly 40% in 2023 over the previous year — lifting demand to 75% of pre-pandemic times.

By comparison, office space demand grew by only an average 19.6% around the US. The New York City market is the nations largest by far with nearly a half-billion square feet. Runner-up Los Angeles has only 317 million square feet and much-in-the-news Miami a mere 41 million square feet, according to brokerage CBRE.

VTS chief strategy officer Ryan Masiello said its data tends to lead the market by six to nine months.

Our prediction is that this year, New York City will break 30 million square feet of total leasing, the highest since before the pandemic, he said.

New York City saw nearly 43 million square feet of new leases, expansions and renewals in 2019.

Deals made in 2023 totaled 26 million square feet according to CBRE, which was 11% lower than in 2022.

The VTS numbers dont reflect actual new leases and expansions, but rather the amount of space that companies are seeking.

Its data is based on lease proposals, company visits to “kick tires” at office buildings and other types of information VTS gets from its client landlords, which Masiello said constitute 80% of the market.

CBRE tristate CEO Mary Ann Tighe commented that the VTS data affirm what our own research is seeing and what our brokers feel on the ground.

Kathryn Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City business-advocacy organization, said the findings were consistent with anecdotal evidence from our members, many of whom are re-upping leases or moving to newly renovated or brand new spaces.”

She noted, Financial and professional services industries, which are our major office employers and tenants, account for an out-sized share of the tax revenues that fund municipal services.

Keeping those businesses and their employees in the city are not just good for our economy, but essential for the quality of life across all five boroughs.

Several deals that were in the works last year actually got done this week.

Sources told The Post that Barclays Bank renewed its lease for 1.1 million square feet at 745 Seventh Ave. Evercore, an investment banking advisory firm, added 95,000 square feet at Fisher Brothers Park Avenue Plaza, lifting its footprint there to more than 500,000 square feet.

Meanwhile, Blackstone, Jane Street Capital and American Express are among top-class tenants reportedly looking for large blocks of space to move or expand in Manhattan.

Experts attribute the renewed Manhattan energy to growing confidence that return-to-office is gaining steam as well as to a wider sense that the city is no longer a ghost town nor dangerous except in a handful of areas.

Dan Biederman, president of the Bryant Park Corporation and the 34th Street Partnership, noted, Our subways and suburban trains are much more crowded than last year. Just today, I almost got knocked over trying to get to the turnstiles at the Rockefeller Center station.

A leasing boom would also be great news for restaurants in business districts.

Marc Packer, a partner in Avra Group which owns three large Midtown restaurants, called the VTS forecast extremely important for the health of retail/restaurant business and the basic ecosystem of the city.

Dino Arpaia, owner of Cellini on East 54th Street, said that it might bring more employees to offices on the two days in the week when he said there are sometimes zero people at his restaurant.

He said the return-to-offices trend hasnt helped parts of East Midtown as much as it has other areas.

Its still missing on Mondays and Fridays, he said.

Politics

Why Boris’s best mate is off to Reform

Published

40 mins ago

July 10, 2025

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👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈       

Former Conservative chairman and friend of Boris Johnson – Sir Jake Berry – is defecting to Reform UK, causing more problems for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch.

On today’s episode, Sky News’ Sam Coates and Politico’s Anne McElvoy discuss if his defection will divide parts of Reform policy.

Elsewhere, the Anglo-French summit gets under way, with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hoping to announce a migration deal with French President Emmanuel Macron to deter small boat crossings.

Plus, chatter around Whitehall that No10 are considering a pre-summer reshuffle, but will it have any value?

US

Donald Trump praises Liberian president’s English – the country’s official language

Published

40 mins ago

July 10, 2025

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Donald Trump praises Liberian president's English - the country's official language

Donald Trump has praised the Liberian president’s command of English – the West African country’s official language.

The US president reacted with visible surprise to Joseph Boakai’s English-speaking skills during a White House meeting with leaders from the region on Wednesday.

After the Liberian president finished his brief remarks, Mr Trump told him he speaks “such good English” and asked: “Where did you learn to speak so beautifully?”

Mr Trump seemed surprised when Mr Boakai laughed and responded he learned in Liberia.

The US president said: “It’s beautiful English.

“I have people at this table who can’t speak nearly as well.”

Mr Boakai did not tell Mr Trump that English is the official language of Liberia.

The country was founded in 1822 with the aim of relocating freed African slaves and freeborn black citizens from the US.

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Mr Trump promised the leaders of Liberia, Senegal, Gabon, Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau a pivot from aid to trade at the surprise meeting.

He described the countries as “all very vibrant places with very valuable land, great minerals, and great oil deposits, and wonderful people”.

Later asked by a reporter if he’ll visit the continent, Mr Trump said, “At some point, I would like to go to Africa.”

But he added that he’d “have to see what the schedule looks like”.

Trump’s predecessor, President Joe Biden, promised to go to Africa in 2023, but only fulfilled the commitment by visiting Angola in December 2024, just weeks before he left office.

US

Gaza permanent ceasefire ‘questionable’, says Israeli government

Published

40 mins ago

July 10, 2025

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Gaza permanent ceasefire 'questionable', says Israeli government

The Israeli government believes the chances of achieving a permanent ceasefire in Gaza are “questionable”.

The pessimistic assessment, in a top-level Israeli government briefing given to Sky News, comes as the Israeli Prime Minister prepares to leave Washington DC after a four-day visit which had begun with the expectation of a ceasefire announcement.

Benjamin Netanyahu will leave the US later today with the prospect of even a temporary 60-day ceasefire looking extremely unlikely this week.

Within “a week, two weeks – not a day” is how it was framed in the background briefing late on Wednesday.

Crucially, though, on the chances of the ceasefire lasting beyond 60 days, the framing from the briefing was even less optimistic: “We will begin negotiations on a permanent settlement. But we achieve it? It’s questionable, but Hamas will not be there.”

Sky News has spoken to several Israeli officials at the top level of the government. None will be drawn on any of the details of the negotiations over concerns that public disclosure could jeopardise their chances of success.

But I have been given a very clear understanding of Mr Netanyahu’s thinking.

The Israeli position is that a permanent ceasefire (beyond the initial 60 days, which itself is yet to be agreed) is only possible if Hamas lays down its arms. “If they don’t, we’ll proceed [with the war],” said a source.

The major sticking point in the talks between Hamas and Israel is the status of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) inside Gaza during the 60-day ceasefire and beyond, should it last longer.

The latest Israeli proposal, passed to Hamas last week, included a map showing the proposed IDF presence inside Gaza during the ceasefire.

This was rejected by Hamas and by Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, who reportedly told the Israelis that the redeployment map “looks like a Smotrich plan”, a reference to the extreme-right Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

My briefing of Mr Netanyahu’s position is that he has not shifted in terms of Israel’s central stated war aims. The return of the hostages and eliminating Hamas are the key objectives.

But in a hint of how hard it will be to reconcile the differences, it was clear from my briefing that no permanent ceasefire is possible in the Israeli government’s view without the complete removal of Hamas as a political and military entity.

Hamas is not likely to negotiate its way to oblivion.

On the status of the Israeli military inside Gaza, a senior Israeli official told Sky News: “We would want IDF in every square metre of Gaza, and then hand it over to someone.”

It was clear to me that Mr Netanyahu wants his stated position to be that his government has no territorial ambition for Gaza.

One quote to come from my briefing, which I am only able to attribute to a senior Israeli official, says: “[We] don’t want to govern Gaza… don’t want to govern, but the first thing is, you have to defeat Hamas.”

Another clear indication of Mr Netanyahu’s position – a quote from the briefing, attributable only to a senior Israeli official: “You cannot have victory if you don’t clear out all the fighting forces.

“You have to go into every square inch unless you are not serious about victory. I am. We are going to defeat them. Those who do not disarm will die. Those who disarm will have a life.”

On the future of Gaza, it’s clear from my briefings that Mr Netanyahu continues to rule out the possibility of a two-state solution “for the foreseeable future”.

The Israeli government assessment is that the Palestinians are not going to have a state “as long as they cling to that idea of destroying our state”.

On the most controversial aspect of the Gaza conflict – the movement of the population – the briefing revealed that Mr Netanyahu’s view is that 60% of Palestinians would “choose to leave” but that Israel would allow them to return once Hamas had been eliminated.

“It’s not forcible eviction, it’s not permanent eviction,” a senior Israeli official said.

Critics of Israel’s war in Gaza say that any removal of Palestinians from Gaza, even if given the appearance of being “voluntary”, is in fact anything but, because the strip has been so comprehensively flattened.

Reacting to Israeli Defence Minister Katz’s recent statement revealing a plan to move Palestinians into a “humanitarian city” in southern Gaza, and not let them out of that area, the official wouldn’t be drawn, except to say: “As a permanent arrangement? Of course not.”