Alexander Spatari | Moment | Getty ImagesA version of this article first appeared in the CNBC Property Play newsletter with Diana Olick. Property Play covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, from individuals to venture capitalists, private equity funds, family offices, institutional investors and large public companies. Sign up to receive future editions, straight to your inbox.Manhattan office leasing increased more than 20% in August compared with July to 3.7 million square feet and was well above the 10-year monthly average of 2.72 million square feet, according to a new report from Colliers. If demand continues at the same pace for the remainder of 2025, Manhattan’s yearly volume would exceed 40 million square feet for the first time since 2019.Over the last 25 years, on average roughly 32 million to 33 million square feet were leased in a given year. In 2024, Manhattan returned to that average for the first time since the pandemic began in 2020.”That is a very strong market in terms of demand,” said Franklin Wallach, executive managing director for research and business development at Colliers.”Certainly a return to office is a part of that — and low unemployment. You also have a reemergence of some key industries that were a little quieter during the pandemic years, not that they ever went away, but tech in particular comes to mind,” Wallach said. He pointed to over a million square feet of Manhattan office leasing by Amazon alone just since November 2024. That came in the form of leases, subleases and enterprise agreements with coworking spaces like WeWork, in addition to building purchases.Get Property Play directly to your inboxCNBC’s Property Play with Diana Olick covers new and evolving opportunities for the real estate investor, delivered weekly to your inbox.Subscribe here to get access today.The legal sector is another prime example. In 2023 Manhattan saw a record year of law firm leasing activity – more than 4 million square feet. Last year was slightly lower, but still above 2019 levels. “You also very much had flight to quality. New construction such as One Vanderbilt, Hudson …
