After several years of significant growth, office leasing velocity started to slow in January and fell precipitously in the final days of the first quarter as a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although uncertainty abounds as the world navigates through unchartered waters, we foresee leasing velocity stalling further, causing availability rates to materially increase across each of New York City’s submarkets, as a deluge of sublet space is added to 2Q 2020 inventory from tenants downsizing and continuing to work remotely.
