Manulife US REIT occupancy rate drops to 77% in Q3

The decline was due to the lower occupancies in Secaucus and Jersey City properties.

Manulife US REIT's Q3 occupancy rate drops to 77%, with over 5 million sq ft of net lettable area leased.

This decline was due to a drop in occupancy at Plaza at Secaucus and Exchange Place at Jersey City, which reported quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) declines of 77.5% and 73.8%, respectively.

In Q2, the occupancy rate at Plaza was 82.2%, whilst the occupancy rate for the Exchange Place was 75.9%.

The REIT signed 261,000 sq ft of leases during the period, representing 5.2% of its portfolio’s net lettable area.

The weighted average term of leases signed in Q3 remains long at 6.5 years, although rent reversion for the quarter was down 1.7%, excluding leases in the divestment of the Capitol.

On the flip side, six of nine office leases were signed above market rents. Year-to-date, over 689,000 sq ft of leases have been signed.