NYC Office Leases Lowest Since 2009 on Wall Street Cuts

[marmar]

(Bloomberg) Manhattan office leasing in the first quarter is poised to be the lowest in almost three years as Wall Street cut jobs and needed less space, according to preliminary data from brokerage Studley Inc.

Agreements will be signed for the rental of about 5.7 million square feet (530,000 square meters) this year through March, according to New York-based Studley’s projection. That’s the smallest three-month tally since the 4.5 million square feet leased in the second quarter of 2009, months after the credit crisis pushed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) into bankruptcy and froze demand for space in the biggest U.S. office market.

New York’s financial companies delayed leasing decisions beginning in August amid concerns that Europe’s debt crisis would spread and that U.S. regulatory reforms might cut into business. Global banks and financial firms have announced plans to eliminate more than 150,000 jobs since June, data complied by Bloomberg show.

“As the saying has gone for many years, as financial services goes, so does New York City,” Mitchell Steir, Studley’s chief executive officer, said in a telephone interview. ...............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-23/nyc-office-leasing-lowest-since-2009-as-wall-street-cuts-back.html