Manhattan ends strongest leasing year in a decade with a high-performing fourth quarter

Manhattan’s office market closed 2025 on a high note, with 11.2 million square feet (msf) leased in the fourth quarter. This brought the annual total to 42.9 msf—up 20.1% year over year and the highest since 2014. Despite the momentum, leasing activity remained highly concentrated in newly built and modernized Class A and trophy buildings. Class A properties accounted for nearly 70% of fourthquarter leasing, despite representing just 58.3% of the market’s inventory. With premium space in Midtown becoming increasingly scarce, tenants are beginning to look Downtown—where leasing reached 2.2 msf, the strongest quarterly total since Q4 2019. New leases and relocations made up just over half of the quarter’s activity (50.4%), highlighting limited availability in the top tier. Notably, eight of the 10 largest transactions were renewals or expansions in place.

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