Manhattan office rents fell the most in at least 25 years in the first quarter, Bloomberg said citing a Tuesday report from broker Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
Rents dropped 6% from the Q4’08 to $65.01 a square foot. The decline is the most in records dating back to 1984, Cushman said, and shows how much the fallout from the September bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK) hurt the New York property market.
“It’s gone beyond the financial firms… It’s broad across a lot of industries. Everybody has the same way of thinking, which is low confidence in job growth, consolidation, cutting expenses, not hiring unless you really have to.” Joseph Harbert, Cushman & Wakefield’s CEO for the New York region, said in a telephone interview. [via Bloomberg]
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