Manhattan’s offices are on track to be just as busy as pre-pandemic years, thanks to RTO

Manhattan office leasing was up 20% in August compared with July at 3.7 million square feet. That was nearly 40% above the 10-year monthly average of 2.72 million, according to a new report from Colliers. 

As companies across all industries push for workers to get back into the office, instead of working from their couch, tech leaders in particular have buckled down on RTO measures. From San Francisco to New York, industry heavyweights like Google and Amazon have been demanding their workers return to the office—and it’s having a ripple effect on the real estate market in major cities like New York. 

Over the last 25 years, roughly 32 million to 33 million square feet were leased in a given year for those clocking in at their 9-to-5s in Manhattan. The pandemic caused a 25 million deficit in office space being leased, according to the report. But since last year, leasing habits in the New York borough have returned to normal levels. 

If demand continues at the same pace for the remainder of 2025,  Manhattan’s office leasing could even top 40 million for the first time since 2019.

Amazon, Robinhood and JPMorgan push for RTO 

Members of the Magnificent 7– high performing tech companies in the U.S. stock market who include high performing stocks like Alphabet, Amazon, Apple and Meta are pushing employees back to the office in droves. Their reason? In-person work will boost productivity, bosses say.

For example, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev is bringing his C-suite back into the office five days a week. Managers will now have to commute just four days, and individual contributors will report three days a week to the office.  This marks a shift in tone from Tenev, who announced in 2022 that Robinhood would be a remote-first company. He admits, however, that is a decision that he regretted “pretty much immediately.”

Joining in on the movement, Microsoft is reportedly planning a stricter RTO policy after letting most employees work remotely for as much as 50% of their time working remotely without approval. On Wall Street, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon enforced a return-to-office policy, requiring most employees to work in person five days a week. Previously, the CEO shared frustration with not being able to contact people as easily. 

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has perhaps been the most vocal on the importance of RTO measures. “When you’re together, that invention is stronger. People riff on top of one another’s ideas better when they’re together,” Jassy most recently told the Harvard Business Review. 

And it’s not enough to just show face on-site, the company’s even making sure workers are staying at their desk all day too. To counteract “coffee badging”, where employees briefly swipe their badges, get coffee and skip out early to finish their work remotely, Amazon set a two to six-hour minimum obligation for in-office days. 

The $2.4 trillion giant’s office space alone makes up over a million square feet of Manhattan office space leased since November 2024.