New York
December was a robust month for office leasing in Manhattan, with high-profile deals signed in all three major markets of Midtown, Midtown South and Downtown.
As of Dec. 27, a total of 9.1 million square feet of office space was leased in Manhattan in 2013’s fourth quarter, according to data from commercial brokerage Colliers International. That’s up sharply from 6.31 million square feet in the previous quarter and 4.97 million square feet in 2012’s fourth quarter. Colliers chief economist Peter Kozel said that the final fourth-quarter numbers may even be slightly higher, given the likelihood of deals in the very final days of the year.
Indeed, average Manhattan asking rents rose steadily throughout the second half of 2013, and increased to $60.41 per square foot in December, up by $1.12 from November, according to Colliers data. The availability rate — an indicator of space currently vacant or available within the next 12 months — dropped by 0.2 points to 11.3 percent in December, from 11.5 percent in November, the Colliers data show. The uptick in leasing activity indicates a thriving business landscape. The services sector, including the financial, legal and marketing industries, had been cautious about growing their office footprints despite consistent revenue growth, but they’re now poised to take on additional space as they continue to expand.

Miami
Miami experienced the largest quarter-over-quarter decline in office vacancy of all the major U.S. markets, shedding 80 bps to arrive at 16.6% – the lowest since 2010. The U.S. industrial market also continued to show improvement in Q4 2013, according to CBRE, as eight of the 12 largest industrial markets had lower vacancy. Miami held its position as the third-strongest industrial market in the U.S., with an availability rate of 7.8%.  Roughly 3.5 million square feet of industrial space in Miami was absorbed in 2013.
While office has lagged other markets during the recovery, we are finally beginning to see signs of positive growth in this sector and a return to equilibrium that places landlords and tenants on equal footing.