SL Green is benefiting from a recovering New York office market. Marc Holliday, CEO of the company, commented on Thursday afternoon during SL Green's second-quarter earnings call: “It may be the middle of summer, but our team is certainly working hard—this is really when we shine brightest, fully focusing on our business plan and outperforming on marketing.”
Holliday had previously predicted an increase in the company's occupancy rate. The occupancy rate for SL Green’s New York office portfolio rose to 94.7 percent, up from 94.4 percent in the prior-year period. He explained that much of the forecasting made at the December investor conference has now materialised in ways that improve cash flow.
The company reported that its Funds From Operations (FFO) reached $109.6 million, or $1.43 per share, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to $124.5 million, or $1.63 per share, in the same period last year. The company's total revenue increased from $241 million in Q2 2025 to $264 million in Q2 2026, an increase of 9 percent. SL Green reported a net loss of $26.5 million, or 38 cents per share, in the second quarter of 2026, compared to a net loss of $11.1 million, or 16 cents per share, a year earlier.
Strong Leasing Activity and Strategic Transactions
The New York-based Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) signed a total of 53 office leases in Manhattan in the second quarter of 2026, covering a total of 445,161 square feet, with an average rent of $93.17 per square foot and an average lease term of 5.8 years. This brings the leasing activity for the first six months of 2026 to 1,374,425 square feet across 104 office transactions in Manhattan.
Marc Holliday emphasised: “A growing scarcity of prime space in highly sought-after Midtown districts has turned the tide in our favour.” He added that the company expects to exceed its internal leasing targets by the end of the year and that the trend continues to move in the right direction. Key deals in the second quarter included the announcement of an unnamed top AI firm signing a 10-year lease for 98,420 square feet for the entire 11th floor at 11 Madison Avenue. Insurance giant Fidelity National Title Insurance completed a new 10-year lease for 19,966 square feet at 711 Third Avenue in July. Additionally, 57,000 square feet of new leased space was secured at 1185 Avenue of the Americas in July, and 500 Park Avenue secured leases for 19,000 square feet.
Steven Durels, Executive Vice President and Director of Leasing and Real Property at SL Green, explained that the company's current leasing pipeline comprises 900,000 square feet, roughly evenly split between new leases and renewals. Of this, 400,000 square feet are in active negotiation, some already well advanced, with lease drafts expected to be signed.
Deals and Disposals
SL Green was also active in acquisitions and disposals in the second quarter. The company sold 10 East 53rd Street to Meadow Partners for $312.2 million, from which SL Green will receive $100 million in proceeds for corporate debt repayment. SL Green also completed the sale of the residential and retail components of 7 Dey Street for $222.6 million, a 34-storey mixed-use tower with 209 units. SL Green will retain the building's 21,000 square foot office component after realising $23.7 million in cash proceeds. The company's largest deal took place in late May, when SL Green disposed of a 49 percent stake in 346 Madison Avenue to Japanese developer Mori Building Company, with the gross valuation for the building reaching $175 million. The agreement stipulates that the two firms will jointly develop a new 46-storey, 850,000 square foot office tower near Grand Central Terminal in the future.
Holliday attributed the company's extensive activity over the past three months to both the increase in national World Cup tourism and the “extraordinary and sustained business activity” in New York City. He highlighted that jobs requiring office space in New York City are increasing and that the healthcare sector and the venture capital sector, along with financial firms, are driving office leasing. Referring to the financial services sector, whose Wall Street profits reached $21 billion in the first quarter of 2026, Holliday said: “Our economy, compared to any other central business district in the country or even the world, driven by the financial services sector, is in a league of its own.” He added that the city is experiencing one of the greatest resurrections he has ever seen, which has contributed to SL Green leasing 50 million square feet of office space over the past four quarters.
