Class distinctions disappearing.The gap between Class A and B asking rents in Manhattan office buildings is narrowing, freeing many Class B tenants to trade up for better space. The decline in asking rents downtown has been steeper, where tenants and landlords are anxiously waiting for an incentives package to take shape on Capitol Hill. With uncertainty at a record high, prices are naturally in flux. "The rents are definitely coming down in the Class A buildings. It's possible to get a Class B rent at several Class A buildings now," said real estate consultant Peter Pattison. While good news for tenants seeking Class A rents at Class B prices, the downward trend has many owners seeking fire-sale prices at their buildings. Also, some owners may be holding out for better rents in the coming months, though there is no guarantee that they will get them. The vast majority of World Trade Center tenants who relocated within Manhattan ended up in Class A buildings. Some may have sought out Class B space as a way to cut costs, but the immediate effect of the attacks did not, by any means, inundate in·un·date tr.v. in·un·dat·ed, in·un·dat·ing, in·un·dates 1. To cover with water, especially floodwaters. 2. the Class B market with new tenants. Class A space saw a steeper decline between the third and fourth quarter of last year, particularly in lower Manhattan Lower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York. Lower Manhattan is generally defined as the area delineated on the north by Chambers Street, on the west by the Hudson River (North . According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Cushman & Wakefield data, the total vacancy rate for Class A Manhattan space downtown stood at 3.7 percent during the third quarter of last year. Class B was charted at 10.2 % for the same duration. The data shows that despite a 8,464,699 SF loss of downtown office space between the first and second quarter, the total vacancy rate for Class A space downtown rose 4 % in the fourth quarter. Likewise, the rise in Class B vacancy downtown rose 2 percent here. In terms of asking rents, the average asking rent for Class A space downtown in the third quarter was $47.26. By the fourth quarter, the average asking rent here dropped to $45.79. The average asking rent for Class B space downtown rose from $36.20 to $36.75 in the fourth quarter, indicating a flat market. "Class B owners will need to be very aggressive marketing their space and offering concessions," said Paula Forys, assistant director of research at Cushman & Wakefield. When asked about what jumped out at her in the data, Forys noted the respective effects on midtown mid·town n. A central portion of a city, between uptown and downtown. midtown Noun US & Canad the centre of a town and midtown south. "The strength of midtown in this market is notable. Also, the extent of the decline in midtown south is interesting, mainly due to a higher concentration of Class B and C buildings here," she said. Midtown south in particular suffered from the dot-corn collapse, which boosted vacancy rates as it lowered asking rents. "What is happening in midtown south is that inflated asking rents from the dot-coin ruse Ruse (r  `sĕ), city (1993 pop. 170,209), NE Bulgaria, on the Danube River bordering Romania. The chief river port of Bulgaria, it is also an industrial and communications center. are a thing of the past. Value counts
again," said Michael Cohen Michael Cohen may refer to:
general visceral afferent system of nerves. Williams. The value of research in such a topsy-turvy market may even be disputed, according to one commercial broker. "How does the data account for the many buildings that have no asking rent? I'm seeing so many buildings where it is negotiable NEGOTIABLE. That which is capable of being transferred by assignment; a thing, the title to which may be transferred by a sale and indorsement or delivery. 2. ," said Ruh Colp-Haber, principal of Wharton Property Advisors, Inc.. Her recent experience has shown that some downtown buildings are not marketing space at all due to the lack of any interested parties. "The feeding frenzy feed·ing frenzy n. 1. A period of intense or excited feeding, as by sharks. 2. Excited activity by a group, especially around a focal point: is over and the data isn't, in many cases, even being updated," said Colp-Haber |
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