[1/2] The Empire State Building and Manhattan skyline are pictured from the Summit at One Vanderbilt observatory in Manhattan in New York City, U.S., April 14, 2023. "There's essentially almost no market for office buildings right now because people don't know where the bottom is," said Andrew Nelson, a real estate economist who runs Nelson Economics in Washington. Opportunistic investors who could clear the market of unneeded office space and help lift values are biding their time, sitting on the sidelines, Lim said. The increase in negative absorption comes despite the number of office jobs in Manhattan now exceeds pre-pandemic levels. And Savills Plc (SVS.L) said direct available office space in Manhattan now measures 70.4 million square feet, the highest in history.

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Persons: Mike Segar, There's, Andrew Nelson, Andrew Lim, Lim, JLL, Nelson, Mark Berry, Kroll, Herbert Lash, Nick Zieminski Organizations: Empire, Vanderbilt, REUTERS, Reuters, Nelson Economics, Jones Lang LaSalle Inc, SOAR, Kroll Bond, Agency, Thomson Locations: Manhattan, New York City, U.S, Washington, New York