2025 Delivered the Largest Post-Pandemic Lease by Value, Signaling a New Chapter for NYC’s Office Market

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• Total Value (Consideration) of the Top Ten List Rose Considerably in 2025 Year Over Year, with the Top Deal Reaching over $2.6 Billion in the Largest Post-Pandemic
• Triple-Digit Lease Levels Held Firm: Eight of the Top Ten Deals Exceeded $100/SF in Both 2024 and 2025
• Landlords Offer Most Generous Concessions Since 2021 as Work Value Hits $145 Per Square Foot in 2025
• NYC’s Most Valuable Average Office Deal Size Shrunk 11% in 2025, but Tenants Locked in Longer Lease Terms
• Jane Street Inked the Largest Office Lease of 2025 by Transaction Size, but Ranked Just Sixth by Value
• Majority of Top Ten Deals Inked Outside of New Construction for the Third Consecutive Year
• Financial Services Inked a Majority of Top Leases for Second Consecutive Year, Followed by TAMI, in Slight Uptick in Presence Year over Year
• 2025’s Ranking Reflected More Diverse Set of Locations as Midtown’s Share Dropped from 100% in 2024 to 70% of the Top Ten in 2025

As featured by Bisnow in “Deloitte’s $2.6B Hudson Yards Deal Tops NYC’s Priciest Leases Of 2025,” CompStak is pleased to present the ten most valuable office leases inked in Manhattan in 2025. With this article, CompStak concluded its seventh consecutive year of ranking Manhattan’s top ten most valuable office lease deals, highlighting notable changes in the office market during this transformative period for the sector from 2019 to 2025.

Among the most notable findings for 2025’s top deals:

• Value: 2025’s top ten deals blew past prior year’s levels with the top deal as the largest since the pandemic began, topping $2.6 billion dollars.
• Industry: FIRE tenants continued to anchor the most valuable deals, accounting for one-third of all top-ten deals since 2019, reflecting their sustained commitment to in-person office use. 
• Rents: Triple-digit starting rents held firm at the top of the market, with eight of the ten largest deals in both 2024 and 2025 exceeding $100 per square foot despite a modest dip in the overall average.
• Lease Term Length: Average lease term rose year over year, with the longest term deal inked by Universal Music Group. 
• Building Quality: New construction captured the two largest deals, despite completion years away, underscoring strong demand for it.
• Submarket/Location: The geography of top deals broadened in 2025, as Midtown’s share fell from 100% in 2024 to 70%, with Downtown and Midtown South reappearing among the largest transactions.

Here’s a look back at everything CompStak has uncovered in the last 7 years, 2019 – 2026’s top ten deals by value in Manhattan’s office market:

Total Value (Consideration) of the Top Ten List Rose Considerably in 2025 Year Over Year, with the Top Deal Reaching over $2.6 Billion in the Largest Post-Pandemic

The overall value of the top ten office deals in 2025 totaled over $9.35 billion, a 31.2% increase over 2024’s totals, in evidence that NYC’s office market continues to reach new heights and draw major tenants and investment.  While 2025 saw the largest share of the top ten deals fall within the $500 to $750 million range, the largest deal topped 2.6 billion dollars as Deloitte committed to relocate to the under-construction 70 Hudson Yards. In addition, Starr Companies agreed to a $1-billion-plus deal to relocate from 399 Park Avenue to 343 Madison Avenue, another Manhattan tower currently under construction. Since 2019, only 11 out of 70 deals (15.7%)  have surpassed this threshold, according to CompStak’s research. Deloitte’s lease was the largest value deal completed since 2019: the second largest was signed in 2019 by Warner Media with a lease for 1.97 billion dollars at 30 Hudson Yards. 

Triple-Digit Lease Levels Held Firm: Eight of the Top Ten Deals Exceeded $100/SF in Both 2024 and 2025

The average starting rent for the top ten deals in 2025 declined slightly to $118.15 per square foot from 2024’s average of $119.86, though both years averaged significantly higher than 2023. The highest starting rent in the top ten list in 2025 was signed by STARR Companies at 343 Madison Avenue at $230 per square foot. The commercial insurance firm signed one of the eight top-ranked deals with a triple-digit starting rent this year.

Landlords Offer Most Generous Concessions Since 2021 as Work Value Hits $145 Per Square Foot in 2025

The average work value among the top 10 deals in 2025 increased to $145.09 per square foot, and free rent rose to an average of 16.7 months, both climbing from 2024 levels and approaching 2021’s peak, suggesting landlords offered more generous concessions compared to previous years. The higher ratio of new leases relative to 2024’s list likely contributed to this increase, as new transactions traditionally receive more concessions.

NYC’s Most Valuable Average Office Deal Size Shrunk 11% in 2025, but Tenants Locked in Longer Lease Terms

In 2025, the average transaction size retreated slightly year over year while the average lease term length increased over the same period, indicating a moderation in deal scale with longer commitments as compared to previous years. Average deal size fell 11% to 466,488 square feet, down from 525,814 square feet in 2024, while the average lease term rebounded to 207.5 months from 181.6 months. Collectively, these trends suggest tenants prioritized long-term stability. In 2025, half of the top ten office deals were new leases, with an additional 30% tied to renewals and expansions, leaving only two deals as renewals of existing footprints, in a positive sign for absorption. Salesforce.com expanded its existing footprint at 1095 Avenue of the Americas by 25%, Jane Street renewed and expanded to just under 1 million square feet at Brookfield Place, and Guggenheim Partners renewed their lease at 330 Madison Avenue expended to nearly 360,000 square feet.

Jane Street Inked the Largest Office Lease of 2025 by Transaction Size, but Ranked Just Sixth by Value

Jane Street signed the largest single lease among 2025’s top office deals at more than 980,000 square feet. However, with starting rents in the mid-$70s per square foot, the deal ranked sixth by total lease value.

Meanwhile, the longest lease term among 2025’s top deals was secured by Universal Music Group at the recently redeveloped 2 Penn Plaza with a lease for 266 months, yet that commitment ranked fifth by total value, underscoring how pricing, not just size or duration, impacts deal rankings.

Majority of Top Ten Deals Inked Outside of New Construction for the Third Consecutive Year

For the third consecutive year, the top deals of 2025 by value were largely signed in existing buildings, with just two announced in Midtown buildings under construction. Among the top ten transactions by value, the largest lease involved new construction, with Deloitte committing to anchor 807,000 square feet at 70 Hudson Yards, a 1.1 million-square-foot tower scheduled for completion in 2028. In addition, the Starr Companies will relocate from 399 Park Avenue to 343 Madison Avenue, a 950,000 square foot tower under construction by Boston Properties, scheduled to be completed in 2039. Another major transaction took place at 2 Penn Plaza, as Universal Music Group committed to relocate from 1755 Broadway after Vornado completed a comprehensive redevelopment of the 1.6-million-square-foot property in 2023.

Apart from these deals, the average construction year of the existing properties in the top ten deals was 1966. Among these buildings, just two were considered a trophy property: the 1.2-million-square-foot 1095 Avenue of the Americas, built in 1974 and owned by Ivanhoé Cambridge and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and 200 Park Avenue, where the Irvine Company-owned tower was built in 1963.

Since 2019, 18.7% of the top ten deals have taken place in newly constructed buildings. With few new towers in the current construction pipeline in Manhattan despite apparent demand for this space, this share is unlikely to grow in the coming year. According to Cushman & Wakefield market statistics, the square feet of office space under construction in Manhattan totalled 3.5 million square feet as of the end of 2025, up 5% year over year but down by one-third since the end of 2023.

Financial Services Inked a Majority of Top Leases for Second Consecutive Year, Followed by TAMI, in Slight Uptick in Presence Year over Year

For the second consecutive year, financial services firms were the major players among the top deals by value completed in Manhattan in 2025. This year, financial firms also completed four of the top ten deals, with the largest value deal among them, Starr Companies, taking the second top spot overall with the insurance company’s relocation to 343 Madison Avenue. Overall, the FIRE industries have accounted for nearly a third of top-ten deals since 2019, an enduring post-COVID theme as these industries have maintained a stronger commitment to in-person office work than other companies.  In 2025, TAMI’s appearance on this list had a small uptick, a cautious sign that the industry could be increasing activity in the market. The top TAMI deal was completed by Salesforce with a renewal and expansion at its NYC headquarters at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in the Bryant Park area.

2025’s Ranking Reflected More Diverse Set of Locations as Midtown’s Share Dropped from 100% in 2024 to 70% of the Top Ten in 2025

While Midtown Manhattan has consistently dominated the list of top deals each year since 2019, 2025’s list showed an increase in deals from Midtown South and Downtown Manhattan year over year. Overall, since 2019, Midtown has accounted for more than 70% of the top ten deals, with the MetLife Building at 200 Park Avenue and the Park Avenue submarket being the top standouts by number of deals. In 2025, Downtown, specifically Brookfield Place, notably reappeared among the top ten, with a nearly 1 million-square-foot renewal and expansion from Jane Street as well as a 455,000-square-foot relocation of Moody’s from 7 World Trade Center west to 200 Liberty Street.

In case you missed it, Bisnow covered the top ten deals in an exclusive article, Deloitte’s $2.6B Hudson Yards Deal Tops NYC’s Priciest Leases Of 2025.