NYC Office Condo Market Report — First Half 2016
Semi-annual analysis of Manhattan office condominium sales and trends for the first half of 2016.
Download PDFMarket Overview
The Manhattan office condominium market comprises 96 buildings totaling approximately 10.7 million square feet. Midtown accounts for 5.8 million sqft, Midtown South 2.8 million sqft, and Downtown 2.1 million sqft. By class, Class A represents 3.8 million sqft, Class B 4.6 million sqft, and Class C 2.3 million sqft.
In H1 2016, 113,147 square feet traded across 15 sales in 14 buildings for a total of $93,205,380, at an average price of $824 per square foot and an average unit size of 7,543 sqft. Square footage decreased to its lowest level in five years, down from 148,696 sqft in H2 2015 and considerably lower than the 5-year average of 222,585 sqft. Dollar value of $93,205,380 was 14% less than H2 2015 ($108,096,571), with the 5-year average half value at $135,178,865. The average price of $824/sqft was 13% higher than $727 in H2 2015 and significantly above the 5-year average of $607. The 15 sales were 13 fewer than H2 2015 and 21 fewer than the 5-year average.
By submarket: Midtown had 7 sales totaling 62,172 sqft for $52,508,265 at $845/sqft average. Midtown South had 5 sales totaling 36,257 sqft for $28,404,115 at $783/sqft. Downtown had 3 sales totaling 14,718 sqft for $12,293,000 at $835/sqft.
Availability stood at 1,049,734 sqft (9.9% rate) across 63 units in 27 buildings with an average asking price of $1,050/sqft. Midtown had 775,532 sqft available at $1,131/sqft, Midtown South 62,708 sqft at $1,076/sqft, and Downtown 211,494 sqft at $746/sqft. Excluding 866 UN Plaza and International Gem Tower, availability was 574,901 sqft at a 5.4% rate.
Market Trends
Dollar Volume by Half Year
Total sales volume per period
Average Price per RSF
Volume-weighted avg vs median $/RSF
Office Condos Sold
Number of transactions per period
Sales by Submarket
Total volume by submarket (all time)
Available Inventory
Current listings by submarket
| Submarket | Buildings | Listings | Available RSF | Avg Ask/RSF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midtown | 29 | 116 | 1,052,616 | $926 |
| Midtown South | 34 | 56 | 346,840 | $778 |
| Downtown | 22 | 78 | 351,106 | $1,002 |
| Total | 85 | 250 | 1,750,562 | $916 |
Size of the Office Condominium Market
By Rudder Property Group
Despite representing only approximately 2% of New York City's roughly 500 million square foot office market, Manhattan's 10.5 million square foot office condominium market is remarkably large — exceeding the entire downtown office markets of many major American cities.
A comparison of downtown office market sizes illustrates this point:
• NYC Office Condominiums: 10.5 million sqft • Downtown San Diego: 10.2 million sqft • Downtown Hartford: 10.1 million sqft • Downtown Stamford: 9.8 million sqft • Downtown Austin: 9.3 million sqft • Downtown San Jose: 8.4 million sqft • Downtown Honolulu: 7.2 million sqft • Downtown Salt Lake City: 6.9 million sqft • Downtown Tampa: 6.8 million sqft • Downtown Omaha: 6.5 million sqft
This comparison underscores the significance of the Manhattan office condominium market. While it may be a niche segment within New York City's vast commercial real estate landscape, it stands as a substantial market in its own right — larger than the core office districts of numerous prominent American cities.