A growing spread between starting and effective rents illustrates how office landlords — even among coveted Class A buildings — are seeing their rental income eroded as the office market remains squarely in favor of tenants.
Big tech once appeared to be a savior in the office market. A year later, it’s more of a harbinger of doom.
Leasing by tech companies fell drastically in the fourth quarter, down 57 percent across the country from the previous quarter, according to Savills data reported by Bisnow. The report noted that the 2.2 million square feet leased in the fourth quarter was barely a quarter of the 8.5 million taken a year earlier.
Brokers are turning to the bot developed by artificial intelligence firm OpenAI to assist with everyday tasks. The free technology produces conversational answers to inquiries rather than responding to questions and scraping the internet for search results.
Gparency’s Ira Zlotowitz says that the bot will ultimately close the knowledge gap among brokers and further emphasize the importance of personal connections.
Two Sigma signed a renewal to keep its 265,000-square-foot offices at 100 Avenue of the Americas for another seven years, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. Asking rent was in the mid-$80s per square foot.
Owners of office buildings stumbled through 2022 when their holdings underperformed most every other type of commercial real estate. Things look poised to get worse in 2023.
Landlords have been longing for employees to head back to office buildings in greater numbers. But the national return rate has crept up slowly. For the past three months, it has plateaued at about half of what it was before the pandemic.
Now, a possible recession is making the outlook for 2023 even gloomier. New business searches for new office space, after rebounding in 2021, fell in 2022 to 44% of what they were in 2018 and 2019, according to VTS, a firm that operates a data platform that tracks tenant demand.
There is a revival of leasing activity in the more “commoditized” space, not just the Class A trophy space that heretofore has been the hallmark of the post-pandemic semi-recovery — one that has had owners of Class B and C buildings worried that a comeback at their level might never happen, meaning they will have to consider converting their buildings to another property type, like residential.
A Dick’s Sporting Goods subsidiary inked a deal with RAL Development to join its Union Square boutique office building.
GameChanger, a youth sports platform for live streaming, signed a 25,000-square-foot lease at Zero Irving, the New York Post reported. The company will occupy the 17th and 18th floors of the technology-focused property at 124 East 14th Street.
Stalled office occupancy, sluggish leasing activity, high construction costs, and rising interest rates have the pace of office construction well below pre-pandemic levels. Still, these developers are banking on future demand for premium space. Much of the strategy, like so much else in real estate, comes down to a well-worn adage: location, location, location.
The largest office projects proposed over the last 12 months are concentrated around major transportation hubs in Midtown, including three that will be a short walk from Grand Central Terminal.
Anchin, Block & Anchin signed a 45,000-square-foot lease at 3 Times Square, the landlord announced Monday. The 10-year lease at 3 Times Square covers the entire 25th floor of the property, as well as part of the 24th floor.
KKR is the latest firm to bail on office plans as the sector continues to be shaped by remote work.
The private equity giant was looking at 300,000 square feet at Tishman Speyer’s 341 Ninth Avenue in West Chelsea Insider reported. The firm was considering the space near its Hudson Yards headquarters for possible consolidation of its other Manhattan office spaces but has since scrapped its plans.
