The New York City office leasing market is experiencing its largest boom in nearly two decades, with rental levels hitting record highs far surpassing other US cities.
According to data from real estate services company CBRE Group, in the first nine months of 2025, businesses in Manhattan leased a total of 23.2 million square feet of office space, marking the largest scale for the same period in 19 years.
The resurgence of the New York office leasing market is driven by various factors: a significant increase in the number of employees returning to the office; and a continued rise in the demand for modern office spaces from the financial industry. Accounting and consulting giant Deloitte signed the largest lease deal of the year, taking up nearly three-quarters of the space in a new skyscraper in Hudson Yards. Tech, media, and advertising companies are also aggressively expanding. Amazon expanded its presence in New York this year by not only purchasing a building on Fifth Avenue but also leasing an additional 330,000 square feet of office space.
CBRE Group points out that in 2025, leasing activity in Manhattan has surpassed the levels seen in 2018-2019, whereas the overall leasing volume in the US is still 11% lower on average compared to pre-pandemic levels.
As competition intensifies, rental prices continue to rise. As of 2025, there have been 143 lease agreements exceeding $100 per square foot, surpassing the record set in all of 2024. This surge has also prompted developers to restart new construction projects, with six or more new office buildings currently in progress in Manhattan, the highest number since the pandemic.
The financial services industry in New York remains a core driver, with the resurgence in IPOs and trading activities leading banks to expand their workforce. The convenient commute in New York, coupled with the highest office return rate in the nation, adds to the market’s attractiveness. Data from location intelligence platform Placer.ai shows that the office attendance rate in New York City in July 2025 was 1.3% higher than the same period in 2019, while the national average is still 22% lower than in 2019.
Despite the market’s revival, Manhattan’s vacancy rate remains at 14.8%, nearly double that of the end of 2019. Many older buildings are facing obsolescence or financial difficulties.
Additionally, next month’s mayoral election is drawing significant attention. Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani is widely favored to win. His advocacy for freezing rent-controlled apartment rents and increasing taxes on the wealthy has raised concerns among real estate developers. Developer Gary Barnett expressed to the media, “An unfriendly policy environment towards businesses and entrepreneurs could indeed disrupt the recovery.”