Lower Manhattan's retail market stands ahead of the rest of Manhattan according to Cushman & Wakefield

A Cushman & Wakefield comparison of the vibrancy of retail real estate in ten Manhattan neighborhoods shows that Lower Manhattan stands head and shoulders above the rest. In a year-to-year tracking of second-quarter asking rents, Lower Manhattan witnessed an increase of 37.8%, surpassing the second-ranking neighborhood, Times Square, by an astonishing 274%. Times Sq. asking rents increased by 13.8%, followed by a 12.4% rise on Madison Ave. and an increase of 10.7% in the Flatiron District. Retail vacancies tell a similar tale, with Lower Manhattan again at the top of the heap. The area's vacancy rate declined by 2.7%. Coming in second was Lower Fifth Avenue, where vacancies charted 1.6% lower, followed by unchanged levels in Times Square and an increase of .4% on Third Avenue. "Asking rents were on the rise in eight of ten Manhattan neighborhoods, with Lower Manhattan leading the pack," said Cushman & Wakefield vice chairman Joanne Podell. "We expect Downtown to keep attracting retail as office employment rises. In addition, retail rents along the Fifth Avenue corridor have been increasing steadily, underscoring that market's long-term strength." Cushman & Wakefield's second-quarter retail statistical packet, available upon request, includes availability rate and average ground floor asking rents going back over varying periods of time for each of the ten markets, along with detailed market "snapshots" for each area.