A tightening of the Midtown Office Market

June 2025

$20 PSF | Built Space | Short-term | 256west38.com

Midtown Office Market Is Tightening

After a long stretch favoring tenants, Midtown’s office market is tilting back favor to Landlords. From Class-A, all the way down. It’s not seismic but in our conversations and negotiations, the shift is clearly recognizable.

Rents are rising. Some major NYC landlords have bumped asking rents multiple times already this year — and in some cases, they’re adjusting pricing mid-negotiation.
Spaces are more competitive. With fewer quality options available, tenants are bumping into competition on the value deals and a handful of experiences with that competition being companies growing within their current buildings.
Landlords are less excited about doing construction. With costs surging and significant downtime of construction, LLs are increasingly reluctant to get busy with construction when there is decent liquidity of second-generation (built) space. To be clear, many LLs will still do the work to get that higher rent but it may require a greater lease term commitment than previously.

For small to midsize businesses that want well-located, high-quality space, the window of strong options is narrowing both in price and selection.

So what’s the move?

Now’s the time to get sharper. The best deals aren’t always listed, obvious, or available for long. Knowing where to look, being proactive before you are under pressure and being prepared to move quickly matters more than ever.

There’s still opportunity as landlords are quietly filling gaps with smaller prebuilts, partial floors, and flexible subleases. The right tenant, positioned well, can still land a smart deal but it takes prep and speed.

If you're thinking about renewing, expanding, or just keeping your options open, let’s talk.

Until next month,

Ben

Ben Blumenthal
Principal Broker | Noah & Co.

The Best of the Month

Office leasing activity across Midtown continues to increase, as lease terms lengthen and office availability plummets.

It's been a busy few months for our team as well, with some of our recent transactions highlighted below: