CBRE's report finds February 2014 all three Manhattan markets topping their five-year monthly leasing averages

Manhattan logged 2.44 million s/f of leasing activity during February, up 40% from February 2013's 1.74 million s/f. Notably, all three Manhattan markets topped their respective five-year monthly leasing averages. Year-to-date leasing totaled 5.26 million s/f, 60% ahead of the 3.34 million s/f of activity logged during the same two-month period in 2013. Net absorption reached positive 960,000 s/f in February with all three markets in positive territory for the month. The Manhattan-wide availability rate dropped 30 basis points month-over-month to 12.0%. Manhattan's average asking rent edged up $0.07 during February to $63.68 per s/f Among the report's highlights: Midtown - Midtown's 1.28 million s/f of leasing during February was slightly higher than the market's five-year monthly average of 1.24 million s/f and significantly above February 2013's total of 830,000 s/f Year-to-date, Midtown logged 2.95 million s/f of leasing, 65% above last year's pace. No spaces larger than 70,000 s/f were listed during the month, which helped the net absorption total reach 530,000 s/f However, the year-to-date mark remained in negative territory. The month's positive net absorption led to a decline in the market's availability rate, which finished February at 12.0%, compared to 12.2% in the previous month and 12.6% one year ago. Midtown's average asking rent remained stable in February, finishing at $73.45 per s/f, as no new large blocks of space added during the month were priced significantly above January's average asking rent. Midtown South - Midtown South posted its third consecutive month of strong leasing with February's 530,000 s/f of activity outpacing the market's five-year monthly average of 370,000 s/f by 42%. Through February, leasing activity totaled 1.28 million s/f, more than double 2013's year-to-date tally of 570,000 s/f The month's strong leasing offset new availabilities, resulting in 110,000 s/f of positive net absorption. Year-to-date, Midtown South posted 530,000 s/f of positive net absorption, a significant reversal of 2013's year-to-date total of negative 1.60 million s/f Midtown South's availability rate dropped 20 basis points during February to 9.3%, as only one new availability over 50,000 s/f was added during the month. The average asking rent fell to $63.46 per s/f, down from $64.01 per s/f in January, largely due to higher priced space being removed from the market. Although Midtown South's average rent was up 7% year-over-year, it has remained relatively stable over the past 10 months. Downtown - Downtown posted another strong month, with February's 630,000 s/f of leasing outpacing January's 400,000 s/f of activity by 58% and the five-year monthly average of 380,000 s/f by 66%. The top five transactions signed during the month were all new leases. Through the first two months of the year, Downtown recorded 1.03 million s/f of leasing activity, slightly ahead of 2013's 980,000 s/f of year-to-date activity. February saw 330,000 s/f of positive net absorption as strong leasing offset new availabilities brought to the market. Year-to-date absorption, however, remained in negative territory. The overall availability rate dropped 40 basis points during February to 14.5%, while the sublease availability rate, at 1.6%, remained the lowest of the three Manhattan markets. Downtown's average asking rent inched up $0.35 to $48.44 per s/f during February. Year-over-year, the average was up 4%.