SL Green Realty (SLG) Citi’s Miami Global Property CEO Conference 2026 summary

Market conditions and leasing trends

• Midtown Manhattan leased 27.3 million sq ft in 2025, the highest since 2018, with financial services driving 37% of activity and legal sector having its second-strongest year ever.

• Leasing activity remains robust, with 77% of activity in early 2026 and seven deals over 100,000 sq ft announced; January 2026 saw six such leases, with Midtown accounting for 77.4% of Manhattan activity.

• Nearly 500,000 sq ft of leases signed in the first 60 days of 2026, with expectations to surpass 600,000 sq ft in Q1 and a 1.1 million sq ft pipeline; year-to-date, 491,098 sq ft of Manhattan office leases were signed, including major tenants like TD Securities and McDermott Will & Schulte.

• Available office space declined for six consecutive quarters, with sublease availability at its lowest since 2019 and net absorption positive by over 1 million sq ft for the first time in a decade.

• Trophy assets outperformed, with tenant demand for high-end space exceeding supply.

Leasing update and occupancy

• Projected occupancy for key properties is expected to reach 98% by the end of 2026, up from 95.5% at year-end 2025; two-thirds of the portfolio is projected to reach 98% occupancy by year-end, supporting net effective rental gains.

• The office leasing pipeline totals over 1 million sq ft, with 59 leases in negotiation or out for signature.

Impact of tech & AI in Manhattan

• Tech and AI sectors contributed over 8 million sq ft of leasing in 2025, with tech and media leasing hitting 2.8 million sq ft in Q4 2025 and tenant requirements up 84.5% over two years.

• AI leasing activity exceeded 1.5 million sq ft in 2025, with 1.2 million sq ft of active AI tenant requirements currently in the market; major AI tenants include HarveyAI, Sigma Computing, and Notion Labs.

• AI adoption among tenants has not led to reduced space needs; most leases are long-term expansions.

• Exposure to AI and tech tenants remains limited, with credit risk tightly managed.