Continued job growth and a robust local economy have led to the strongest performance in Manhattan 's leasing market " in recent memory " , with more than 11 million sq ft leased in Q3 , a 30 % increase on 2017 . The data was included in Colliers International ’s quarterly report , which also revealed co - op firms were taking significant amounts of square footage , while rents were reaching record highs . The midtown office market saw its best quarterly leasing performance in 18 years . In contrast , the downtown market suffered a 45 % year - on - year drop in leasing volume .
Continued job growth and a robust US economy have led to the strongest performance in Manhattan's leasing market "in recent memory", with more than 11 million sq ft leased in Q3, a 20% rise on 2017. The data was published in Colliers International’s quarterly report, which also revealed co-working firms were taking significant amounts of square footage, while rents were reaching record highs. The midtown office market saw its best quarterly leasing performance in 18 years. In contrast, the downtown market suffered a 45% year-on-year drop in leasing activity.