Manhattan Office Leasing Slows Amid Tightening Availability

Manhattan office market sees rising rents and tight availability, despite a slowdown in November leasing activity.

December 8, 2025

Manhattan office availability fell to 14.2% in November, the lowest since 2020 and the 21st straight month of decline.
Leasing activity slowed, with 2.99M SF signed — down 17.9% from October and 8% year-over-year.
Major deals led by Midtown, including Millennium Management’s 438K SF extension, helped keep overall volume steady.
Rents continued rising, averaging $75.40/SF — the highest in over a year — with six consecutive months of growth.

Key Takeaways

Two Stories In One Market

November delivered a split narrative for Manhattan’s office sector, reports GlobeSt. On one hand, availability continues to tighten, signaling improving fundamentals. At 14.2%, the vacancy rate reached its lowest point since late 2020. But on the other hand, leasing volume retreated — both month-over-month and year-over-year.

Leasing totaled 2.99M SF in November, down nearly 18% from October. Year-over-year, the drop was a more modest 8%, but still notable. Downtown leasing was particularly weak, falling 48% from the previous month.

Big Deals Keep The Market Afloat

Despite the overall dip in activity, several major deals kept the momentum going. The top lease of the month came from Millennium Management, which extended its Midtown footprint by 438K SF. Tech firms also played a role, with Rippling and Robinhood signing deals for 132,693 and 125,392 SF, respectively.

Fundamentals Stay Positive

Landlords can still point to strong market fundamentals. Average asking rents reached $75.40 PSF — the highest in over a year — and have now increased for six consecutive months. Demand also remained in positive territory, with a net absorption of +510K SF in November.

While Downtown rents slipped slightly, Midtown and other core submarkets continued to show pricing strength.

What’s Next?

The key question heading into the end of the year and early 2026 is whether leasing activity can bounce back. Even with November’s slowdown, Manhattan is still on pace for more than 40M SF in deals — which would mark the best annual performance since 2019.

That said, momentum will be critical in determining whether the office sector can sustain its recovery trajectory amid shifting work trends and macroeconomic uncertainty.