CBRE third quarter 2012 Manhattan Office MarketView

CBRE has released its Manhattan Office MarketView for the third quarter 2012. CBRE Third Quarter Office MarketView highlights: Midtown - Midtown logged 3.9 million s/f of leasing activity during Q3 2012, 28% above the previous quarter's 3.05 million s/f of leasing and 13% above the five-year quarterly average of 3.46 million s/f. Leasing activity through the first three quarters of 2012 totaled 9.61 million s/f, 27% below the 13.11 million s/f recorded during the same nine-month period in 2011. Hot Topics: * Q3 2012 leasing activity was 28% above the previous quarter's level and 13% above Midtown's five-year quarterly average. * Three of the top five transactions completed during the quarter were new leases, reversing the trend from the first half of the year, when leasing activity was dominated by renewal or renewal and expansion activity. * Above-average leasing activity offset new availabilities, resulting in positive net absorption for the quarter. * Midtown's average asking rent remained stable, inching up by 1% during the quarter. * The overall availability rate and the sublease availability rate remained unchanged from the previous quarter. Midtown South - Logged 1.35 million s/f of leasing activity in Q3 2012, 38% above the market's five-year quarterly average of 980,000 s/f, but below the blockbuster 1.58 million s/f of leasing recorded during the previous quarter. Leasing activity for the first three quarters of the year totaled 3.92 million s/f, pacing slightly ahead of 2011's robust year-to-date level of 3.85 million s/f. Hot Topics: * Midtown South recorded another strong quarter of leasing activity, beating the market's five-year quarterly average by 38%. * Robust leasing activity, coupled with relatively few new availabilities, resulted in strong positive absorption for the quarter. * The year-to-date absorption level crossed into positive territory during the quarter. * The overall availability rate dropped 70 basis points during the quarter to 8.4%. * The overall average asking rent rose to an all-time high of $53.40 per s/f. Downtown - Recorded1.24 million s/f of leasing in Q3 2012, topping the market's five-year quarterly average of 990,000 s/f by 25% and the previous quarter's 1.03 million s/f of activity by 20%. Leasing activity for the first three quarters of the year totaled 3.26 million s/f, 32% below the 4.8 million s/f of activity logged during the same period last year. Hot Topics: * Leasing activity topped Downtown's five-year quarterly average by 25% and last quarter's activity by 20%. * Above-average leasing activity fueled the first quarter of positive absorption recorded so far this year. * The overall availability rate declined by 20 basis points to 10.6% during the quarter. * The sublease availability rate fell 20 basis points from the previous quarter to 1.8%. * The overall average asking rent inched up by $0.84 during the quarter to $40.13 per s/f, the first time in more than three years that it has topped $40 per s/f.