JLL: Available prime retail space hits record low in NYC
Retail chains in need of prime locations in New York City are facing long hunts and bigger rent bills.
JLL’s recently released Q4 report on the Big Apple’s retail real estate market reported 13.7% availability — the lowest rate the global real estate services company recorded since it began tracking the measure for minimum 600-sq.-ft. retail spaces in 2017.
Soho’s 66 available spaces were a decrease of eight recorded in Q3 2025. Also posting space decreases were Madison Avenue and the Meatpacking District.
Submarkets that had more availabilities — though modest in number — in Q4 2025 versus Q4 2024 included Flatiron/Union Square (2), Lower Fifth (1) and Times Square (1).
Rents did not, however, reach historic highs. They bottomed out at $450 per square foot in Manhattan during the pandemic but have since steadily climbed to an average of about $550 per square foot.
Neighborhoods that increased asking rents quarter-over-quarter included Lower Fifth Avenue (+16.9%), Madison Ave (+8.9%), Upper Fifth (+3.2%) and SoHo (+0.8%).
Posting quarterly decreases in asking rents were Times Square (-21.9%), 34th Street/Herald Square (-6%) and Flatiron/Union Square (-2.5%).
Year-over-year, both SoHo and Lower Fifth moved rent rates up by more than 24%, while bountiful discounts were offered to retailers looking for space in Times Square (-36.6%) and 34th Street/Herald Square (-19.9%).
The most expensive asking rents in Manhattan are found in Upper Fifth Avenue ($2,326); Madison Avenue ($982); Times Square ($960), and Lower Fifth Avenue ($734).
The lowest rents are being offered in the Flatiron/Union Square District ($270); the Meatpacking District ($299); Williamsburg ($305); Soho ($355) and 34th Street/Herald Square ($421).
Significant Q4 lease signings included Equinox in Chelsea (50,000 sq. ft.), Chelsea Piers in Midtown (47,000 sq. ft.); Aritzia in Flatiron/Union Square (25,000 sq. ft.); and Japanese Restaurant Group in Midtown South (20,496 sq. ft.).
JLL noted that robust tourism and rising employment and wages continued to rise at modest levels during the quarter, and that retail saw stronger than forecasted holiday sales. Stores in Manhattan, according to the report, outperformed the nation during November and December.
