Paramount Group Q2 2025 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
July 31, 2025

Key Takeaways

  • Positive Sentiment: Paramount raised full-year guidance across core FFO ($0.55–$0.59), leasing volume (1.2–1.4M sq ft), and year-end occupancy (86.9–88.9%).
  • Positive Sentiment: The company executed 405,000 sq ft of leases in Q2 (highest since 2019), split 52% New York/48% San Francisco, lifting YTD leasing to ~690,000 sq ft.
  • Positive Sentiment: Paramount’s New York portfolio reached 88.1% leased (highest since early 2022), driven by high-credit tenants at flagship assets.
  • Negative Sentiment: San Francisco occupancy fell to 75.1% leased (down 720 bps), pressured by major move-outs (e.g., Google) and ~19.7% of leases expiring by year-end.
  • Positive Sentiment: Strong liquidity with $534 M in cash, no core debt maturities until 2026, and plans to refinance the $860 M 1301 Avenue of the Americas loan.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Paramount Group Q2 2025
00:00 / 00:00

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Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for joining us on Paramount Group's Second Quarter twenty twenty five Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participant lines are in the listen only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. Please note that this conference call is being recorded today, 07/31/2025.

Operator

I will now turn the call over to Tom Hennessy, the Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Tom Hennessy
Tom Hennessy
Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations at Paramount Group

Thank you, operator, and good morning, everyone. Before we begin, I would like to point everyone to our second quarter twenty twenty five earnings release and supplemental information, were released yesterday. Both can be found under the heading Financial Results in the Investors section of the Paramount Group website at www.pgre.com. Some of our comments will be forward looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward looking statements, which are usually identified by the use of words such as will, expect, should or other similar phrases, are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from what we expect.

Tom Hennessy
Tom Hennessy
Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations at Paramount Group

Therefore, you should exercise caution in interpreting and relying on them. We refer you to our SEC filings for a more detailed discussion of the risks that could impact our future operating results and financial condition. During the call, we will discuss our non GAAP measures, which we believe can be useful in evaluating the company's operating performance. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measure is available in our second quarter twenty twenty five earnings release and our supplemental information.

Tom Hennessy
Tom Hennessy
Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations at Paramount Group

Before we begin our prepared remarks, I want to briefly address an initiative we announced shortly after our last call. In May, our Board of Directors initiated a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. That review remains active, and we will provide updates when appropriate. However, given the ongoing nature of the review, we will not be commenting further or taking questions on the matter today. We appreciate your understanding and respect for the confidentiality and integrity of the review.

Tom Hennessy
Tom Hennessy
Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations at Paramount Group

With those ground rules in place, let's turn attention back to the main agenda and introduce today's speakers. Hosting the call today, we have Mr. Albert Baylor, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of the company Peter Brindley, Executive Vice President, Head of Real Estate and Linda Burberry, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Management will provide some opening remarks and we will then open the call to questions. With that, I will turn the call over to Albert.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Thank you, Tom. Good morning, everyone. We delivered a strong second quarter with core FFO of $0.17 per share exceeding consensus by $03 The results were driven by robust leasing activity, continued operational discipline and a focused approach to capital allocation. Our performance reflects the strength of our Class A portfolio, the resilience of our markets and the depth and execution excellence of our team. The key driver of that momentum is leasing.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

We executed over 400,000 square feet of leases in the quarter, our highest quarterly total since 2019. This brings our year to date total to approximately 690,000 square feet. Notably, leasing this quarter was well balanced across our two markets with 52% in New York and 48% in San Francisco. That's a meaningful shift from recent quarters where activity was more concentrated in New York. This balanced performance highlights the continued strength in New York and the growing traction we are seeing in San Francisco and the broad based appeal of our portfolio.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

It also speaks to the tireless efforts of our leasing team, the enduring quality of our assets and the sustained demand for high quality space in premier submarkets. Our pipeline remains in good shape and we are well positioned to carry this strength through the second half of the year. As a result of our strong first half performance and the momentum we are seeing across the business, we are raising full year guidance across all key metrics, including core FFO, leasing volume, cash NOI and year end leased occupancy. Let me now turn to our markets, starting with New York. The city continues to demonstrate remarkable strengths and depth.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

While headlines often focus on challenges in the broader office sector, what we are seeing on the ground tells a different story, a clear and sustained flight to quality. Tenants are prioritizing well located, highly amenitized buildings that support their in office strategies and reinforce their brand and culture. This dynamic plays directly to our strengths and continues to drive leasing velocity across our portfolio. Our performance this quarter reflects that alignment. Our New York portfolio is now 88.1% leased, the highest level since early twenty twenty two.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Leasing was broad based with strong activity across several of our flagship assets, where we continue to secure long term commitments from high credit tenants. At 1301 Sixth Avenue, we welcomed a nationally recognized legal tenant to the tower floors and subsequent to quarter and we welcomed a leading financial services company to the base. This brings leased occupancy to over 97% at the building. At 900 Third Avenue, we saw an expansion from another tenant, a global law firm that increased that building's leased occupancy to 94%. These transactions underscore the continued demand for our high quality space and highlight the strategic value of our portfolio to high quality tenants.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

A key differentiator in the success continues to be the Paramount Club. This amenity has proven transformative, not only in attracting new tenants, but in fostering a vibrant workplace community that enhances tenant satisfaction and retention. It exemplifies our commitment to delivering our hospitality caliber experience in a commercial setting, and it's a major reason why our buildings remain top of mind for tenants seeking best in class space. We continue to have a very robust leasing pipeline in New York, which Peter will cover in more detail shortly. I'm incredibly proud of how our team continues to execute in this environment, which is why we remain confident that we are exceptionally well positioned to continue capitalizing on the trends in the market.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Shifting to San Francisco, the market remains in a period of recalibration. While overall leasing volumes are still below long term averages, we are beginning to see encouraging signs of stabilization. Sublease space is being absorbed and we are seeing renewed interest from tenants in sectors like AI, legal and professional services, particularly for high quality space in prime locations. That demand is translating into real activity. This quarter, we executed over 190,000 square feet of leasing in San Francisco, an acceleration that reflects both the quality of our assets and the improving sentiment in the market.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Our buildings in the Financial District, particularly 1 Market Plaza, 300 Mission Street and 1 Front Street remain highly competitive with tenants drawn to their location, infrastructure and flexibility. In this environment, our portfolio continues to outperform. While the recovery in San Francisco is gradual, we believe it is steady and the long term fundamentals remain intact. The city continues to attract world class talent and innovation and we are confident that demand for best in class office space will continue to follow. Our team on the ground has done an exceptional job navigating this environment and we remain focused on capturing our share of demand.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

As we look across the portfolio, our capital allocation strategy remains grounded in discipline, flexibility and long term value creation. We continue to evaluate opportunities to unlock value through selective dispositions, joint ventures and reinvestment into our highest conviction assets. Our recent transactions at 900 Third Avenue and 1 Front Street are strong examples of this approach, allowing us to crystallize value while maintaining operational control and upside participation. At the same time, we remain focused on preserving balance sheet strength. We ended the quarter with over $534,000,000 of cash.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

This liquidity gives us the flexibility to be opportunistic, while also positioning us to navigate an evolving macro environment with confidence. With debt markets functioning again, especially here in New York, we are actively pursuing the refinancing of 1301 Sixth Avenue. Given the assets profile and the leasing success we have had there, we expect a smooth process and will look to share the results with you all on our next call. More broadly, we continue to take the long view. We own and operate some of the most iconic office assets in two of the most dynamic cities in the world.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

We believe deeply in the enduring value of these markets and we are committed to managing this portfolio with the same discipline, creativity and conviction that has defined Paramount for decades. With that, I'll hand over to Peter.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Thank you, Albert, and good morning. During the second quarter, we leased approximately 405,000 square feet, 52% of which occurred in New York and the remainder in San Francisco. This brings our year to date total to approximately 690,000 square feet leased, well ahead of our original guidance and providing support for our decision to raise full year guidance to 1,300,000 square feet at the midpoint. The weighted average term for leases signed during the second quarter was twelve point nine years with starting rents in both New York and San Francisco above $90 per square foot. At quarter end, our same store portfolio wide leased occupancy rate at share was 85.4%, down 80 basis points from last quarter, driven primarily by the scheduled lease expiration of Google at 1 Market Plaza in San Francisco.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

In New York and San Francisco, tenants continue to prioritize premier centrally located amenity rich buildings. We remain focused on further developing our tenant relationships, delivering market leading hospitality, securing renewals for upcoming lease expirations and filling our vacant spaces. Year to date, 45% of our leasing activity has occurred on vacant space, 27% on space scheduled to expire in 2025, and the balance has served to derisk lease roll in 2026 and 2027. Our pipeline remains robust with more than 275,000 square feet of leases in active negotiation or advanced stage proposals, more than half of which are for vacant space and the balance for space scheduled to expire in 2025, 2026 and 2027. Beyond that, our pipeline continues to grow and it is notable that in San Francisco, we have seen the number of tours and tenant proposals continue to accelerate this year.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

In the New York market, Midtown's leasing activity excluding renewals during the second quarter was 3,800,000 square feet, 10% ahead of the five year quarterly average. The second quarter marked the seventh consecutive quarter leasing activity has outpaced the five year quarterly average in Midtown and when combined with the first quarter resulted in the strongest first half of the year since 2018. Availability continues to decline particularly in Midtown's core submarkets and net absorption remained positive for the fourth consecutive quarter. Robust leasing demand coupled with conversions of select office buildings, limited new development and the ongoing reduction of sublease availability has resulted in a scarcity of high quality availability in Midtown's premier buildings. We continue to gain momentum and expect the ongoing absorption of quality space in our submarkets to support improved deal economics moving forward.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

The second quarter in New York was largely defined by the completion of 121,000 square foot new lease with the law firm Venish at 1301 Avenue Of The Americas. In addition and subsequent to quarter end, we completed two significant transactions within our New York portfolio, neither of which are included in our pipeline. At 1301 Avenue Of The Americas, we completed a 136,000 square foot lease with Piper Sandler on two full base floors in the building that were previously vacant. At 31 West 50 Second Street, we completed a 133,000 square foot lease with a professional service firm on a block of floors that were also previously vacant. We are proud to welcome both companies to Paramount portfolio.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

At quarter end, our New York portfolio was 88.1% leased on a same store basis at share, up 70 basis points quarter over quarter. Our lease expiration profile in New York is manageable with approximately 141,500 square feet or 2.6% at share expiring by year end. Turning to San Francisco, market wide leasing activity continues to steadily improve as year to date leasing in San Francisco puts calendar year 2025 on pace to be the highest annual leasing total since 2019. While overall market conditions remain challenging, availability has started to decline down 110 basis points quarter over quarter. San Francisco based companies across a variety of industry have become increasingly engaged in reviewing their real estate strategy as evidenced by the increasing number of tours and proposals in our portfolio.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

This is particularly true of AI based companies, which have accounted for more than 55 deals or 800,000 square feet of leasing year to date and have become an increasingly large percentage of the tenants in the market profile. These companies acknowledge the importance of the office and continue to raise significant venture capital funding. In fact, approximately 68 of the AI based demand in San Francisco originated from companies that are new to the market further reinforcing San Francisco's growing importance as an AI hub. During the second quarter, we leased approximately 193,000 square feet to leading tech and financial service companies and law firms. We remain laser focused on the continued backfill of the former Google space at 1 Market Plaza and the portion of the JPMorgan space at 1 Front Street that expires later this year.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

As previously mentioned, planning is underway to deliver exceptional amenities at both 1 Market Plaza and 1 Front Street. We intend to leverage our experience from the Paramount Club and are confident our amenity plan will resonate with existing tenants and prospective tenants alike. At quarter end, our San Francisco portfolio was 75.1% leased on a same store basis at share, down seven twenty basis points quarter over quarter, driven primarily by the known Google move out at 1 Market Plaza. Our lease expiration profile in San Francisco remains elevated with approximately 255,000 square feet or 19.7% at share expiring by year end. With that summary, I will turn the call over to Linda who will discuss the financial results.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

Thank you, Peter, and good morning, everyone. Yesterday afternoon, we reported core FFO of $0.17 per share for the second quarter, exceeding Wall Street consensus estimates by zero three dollars In the second quarter, we executed 14 leases totaling approximately 405,000 square feet with weighted average starting rents of $92 per square foot and an average lease term of twelve point nine years. Mark to market on the 205,000 square feet of second generation space was down 5.4% on a cash basis and up 2.6% on a GAAP basis. At quarter end, the lease occupancy rate of our same store portfolio at share was 85.4%, down 80 basis points from the first quarter. By market, New York increased 70 basis points to 88.1%, while San Francisco was down seven twenty basis points, primarily due to the previously discussed scheduled lease expiration of Google at 1 Market Plaza.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

Given our strong year to date performance and the momentum we expect to maintain through the remainder of the year, we are raising guidance across several key metrics. First, we are increasing and narrowing our full year core FFO guidance to a range of $0.55 per share and $0.59 per share with a midpoint of $0.57 per share. This represents a $03 per share increase from prior guidance at the midpoint. Second, we are raising our full year leasing guidance to a range of 1,200,000 to 1,400,000 square feet or 1,300,000 square feet at the midpoint. This represents an increase of 300,000 square feet or 30% from our previous midpoint.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

Lastly, we are increasing our same store lease occupancy guidance to a range of 86.988.9% with a midpoint of 87.9%. This represents a two fifty basis points increase from our previous guidance and reflects the continued strength of our New York portfolio where we are seeing sustained leasing velocity and a manageable lease expiration profile. As we noted on prior calls, occupancy in New York has stabilized and is now in an upward trajectory. In contrast, we expect to see near term softness in San Francisco driven by volume of upcoming lease expirations. That said, we remain confident in the long term recovery of that market supported by improving tenant sentiment and early signs of stabilization.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

Turning to the balance sheet, we ended the quarter with approximately $534,000,000 in cash and restricted cash improved in part by the partial equity sales completed earlier in the year. This strong liquidity position provides us with meaningful flexibility as we move forward. Our total debt excluding our non core assets stands at $3,200,000,000 with a weighted average interest rate of 4.3% and a weighted average maturity of two point four years. Importantly, 73% of this debt is fixed at a weighted average rate of 3.5% and our floating rate exposure is largely hedged reducing our effective floating rate debt to less than 1% of the total. We have no core debt maturities until 2026 and our largest upcoming maturity, the $860,000,000 loan on 1301 Avenue Of The Americas is backed by high performing over 97% leased assets on a pro form a basis in a liquid and well functioning debt market.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

We're on track to refinance the asset and look forward to sharing more on our next call. As part of our ongoing capital strategy, we also completed the sale of a 25% equity interest in 1 Front Street during the quarter at a gross asset value of $255,000,000 The transaction included a $40,500,000 in seller financing and generated $11,500,000 in net proceeds. The transaction allowed us to bring in a partner to help reposition the asset and unlock long term value. Finally, with respect to Market Center, one of our two non core assets in San Francisco. We designated the property as non core in early two thousand and twenty four and have since worked closely with the lender to facilitate a resolution.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

That process is now complete. The property has been formally disposed off and both the asset and its associated debt have been removed from our portfolio statistics. This outcome is fully aligned with our strategy to preserve balance sheet strength focusing on core assets and maintaining flexibility to pursue value accretive opportunities. We remain disciplined in our capital allocation strategy with a clear focus on preserving liquidity, derisking the balance sheet and investing selectively within our portfolio. This includes targeted leasing capital, strategic redevelopment and high impact enhancements such as the potential addition of a Paramount Club in San Francisco, all aimed at driving long term value.

Ermelinda Berberi
Ermelinda Berberi
EVP, CFO & Treasurer at Paramount Group

With strong liquidity, prudent asset level leverage and a high quality portfolio, we are well positioned to execute on our priorities and remain agile as market conditions evolve. With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. We have our first question from Manas Abic with Evercore ISI. Please go ahead.

Manus E
Senior Associate at Evercore

Thanks for taking the question. Can we maybe talk a little bit about 1633 Broadway sorry, yes, Broadway? I saw obviously you had very great leasing in the quarter. I was just wondering what the tenant demand is for the specific building, how far you are along with covering maybe the short time networks, next move out early next year, and what maybe the asking rents are that you asked for that specific building? Any color would be great.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Good morning, Manas. Good to have you. 1633, we have active showings and the the the building, as you know, has been solidly leased for the last over ten years, and retail is performing well. We are we are having in the retail segment the last store that getting build out for a nice Italian restaurant, and then it's fully leased. Din Tai Fang and the retail is doing fantastically.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

It's apparently the highest grossing Din Tai Fang as we can hear in their group. And with regard to office, Peter is actively showing, and he will give you more details.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Yeah. Manas, thanks for the question. So so we are heavily focused on 1633 Broadway, slightly more than half of our lease roll in New York occurs at 1633 in 02/2025. Same applies to 2026 lease expiration. So so we are contending with a little bit of lease roll.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

But as Albert mentioned, I think we did really very well procuring the retail mix that's now in place at the building. The building shows really very well. Asking rents range from, call it, 70 to $90 per square foot, and, activity at the moment feels very good. We're trading paper on that Showtime block of floors specifically, And we recognize that it's one of a very few block one of a very few spaces in New York of that size, of that quality, and that's part of the reason we have the type of demand that we have currently. So more to come from us with regard to 1633, but we generally feel very good about our prospects.

Manus E
Senior Associate at Evercore

Okay. Great. And, we saw that, obviously, the the concessions came in at around, I think, $200 a square foot for the average leasing activity that you did in the quarter. We were just wondering if this is kind of like where you think going forward, that's kind of like where the price is currently for deals to be made? Or if that was maybe like artificially high in the quarter, just kind of like trajectory here on, like, the kind of, like, going forward second gen capital spending would be interesting to hear.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Are you referring to San Francisco, Manos?

Manus E
Senior Associate at Evercore

I mean, kind of brought brought across, but it can also divvy up to San Francisco, New York. Yeah.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Yeah. So so in New York, we've said this now several for several quarters. Concessions have certainly stabilized. We expect net effective rents in New York to increase going forward starting with the rental rate appreciation and then followed by, we think, concessions starting to come in a little bit as the market continues to tighten. San Francisco TIs are varied, but if you look at our portfolio, TI as a percentage of initial rent, went down in the second quarter as compared to the previous two quarters, and that was partly a function of New York coming down a little bit.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

But but I think what you're probably referring to is San Francisco being elevated to to some extent. And and what we would say about that is that activity in San Francisco is revving up. The market continues to define itself. We did complete several, long term deals with terrific companies and and and law firms in the second quarter. We gave a little bit more in TI, to secure those long term transactions to to secure occupancy in two buildings that we have two known move outs in the current year and also to stoke momentum.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

And we think we've achieved that. We have a number of proposals at both one Front Street and one Market. When we look at our pipeline, it's becoming increasingly balanced between activity in both New York and San Francisco. And so that was that was some commentary around, what I think you're asking about.

Manus E
Senior Associate at Evercore

Perfect. Thank you.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Thank you.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from the line of Blaine Heck with Wells Fargo. Please go ahead.

Blaine Heck
Blaine Heck
ED & Senior Equity Research Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities

Great. Thanks. Good morning. So I appreciate your commentary and transparency on the twenty five and twenty six large move outs, especially in the presentation, very helpful. You talked about Showtime, but I was hoping you could provide some commentary on any incoming interest on the other specific spaces you laid out, also including whether you'll be implementing any large scale renovations on these spaces?

Blaine Heck
Blaine Heck
ED & Senior Equity Research Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities

And any color on the potential time line for those being ready to take on new leasing?

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Yeah. So, Blaine, this is Peter. Thanks for the question. You know, big move out. So in 2025, the largest known move out is Charter at 1633 Broadway, and then you referenced Showtime, which is also at 1633 Broadway in 02/1926.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

We are, we are making some some some improvements to to to to improve the ground floor experience at 1633 Broadway, that we think, has certainly resonated with prospective tenants. But but as I mentioned, when when Manas asked the question, the lion's share or at least more than 50% in 2025 and, again, in 2026 of our lease expirations in New York will occur at 1633 Broadway. And so we do have, opportunities. We are active with a number of prospects. I think you've seen the way in which we've executed elsewhere in the New York portfolio.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

More broadly, the demand in Midtown just continues to accelerate. Feels really very strong, and we think 1633 will be the beneficiary of that before too long.

Blaine Heck
Blaine Heck
ED & Senior Equity Research Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities

Okay. That's helpful, Peter. Albert, I was hoping you could comment on the political situation in New York. There was a pretty clear negative initial reaction to the Democratic primary results, but it seems as though the leasing commentary on this call has remained generally positive. So wanted to get your thoughts on any potential headwinds that could come from the results of the mayoral race and whether you've seen any signs of hesitation from prospective tenants to sign significant leases driven specifically by, you know, concern around those potential changes at City Oak?

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Blaine, we have been, through Paramount, this is in existence since over forty years, and, we have worked with all the administrations that, that New York had. And there is a lot of discussion about it always before the mayoral race, and we are we are willing to work with with whatever comes at us. And we haven't, we haven't realized any kind of hesitation with regard to making long term leases or staying in the city.

Blaine Heck
Blaine Heck
ED & Senior Equity Research Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities

Okay. Great. That's helpful. And sticking with you, Albert, I understand you're hesitant to provide commentary on the progress made on the strategic review before it's kind of finalized and likely also the investigation into internal controls. But I was hoping you might be able to comment on whether the SEC investigation has any impact on the strategic review from a timing perspective or or otherwise.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Blaine, the facts with regard to the SEC inquiry is all laid out in the 10 q. It's reviewing certain historical disclosures. I don't expect that this is has any significant impact at all to the strategic review.

Blaine Heck
Blaine Heck
ED & Senior Equity Research Analyst at Wells Fargo Securities

Great. I appreciate that.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

You're welcome.

Operator

Thank you. The next question comes from Tom Catherwood with BTIG. Please go ahead.

Thomas Catherwood
MD & Analyst - REIT at BTIG

Thank you and good morning everybody. Maybe starting with Albert or Peter, some of your peers have noted that San Francisco office leasing outside of AI tenants has been primarily exploration driven as tenants look for refreshed space. Has that been your experience? And if so, how are you adjusting your leasing strategy to capture this demand?

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Thanks for the question, Tom. San Francisco, in general, I would say, has really picked up across the board. It's it's very refreshing to see how the new city administration is securing, I mean, building up security, cleaning up the city, and working with commerce and being really positive towards business. And I think that has created the tremendous increase in demand and viewings and lease transactions. And our portfolio will be the beneficiary of it.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

We are in prime locations, as you know, in San Francisco, and and Peter will give some more details on it with regard to tenancy. But we see activity across the board, not just AI. We see activity in legal and and and and finance. And it it's really refreshing and positive to see that after the last couple of years, especially since the pandemic. Think San Francisco was very hard hit and, you know, the vacancy and but the city has the ability first of all, it's relatively square footage wise a smaller market than New York, significantly smaller, maybe 20% of it.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

And and it turns around very quickly. And so I'm I'm optimistic about San Francisco.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Yeah. Tom, we are seeing quite a bit of of relocation opportunities, which really very encouraging. And to Albert's point, it's not just AI. Well, that's a really encouraging component of this market. We, in the most recent quarter, transacted with tech, law firms to law firms, financial services.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

So we're we're seeing a a a real nice diverse range of industry activating in this market, out looking for space, considering their real estate moving forward. And so we think that's really very encouraging. Not to mention these tenants are willing to enter into long term deals as reflected in our own metrics. So we think it's really very encouraging. I can say in the last four to six weeks, the number of tours and proposals has has increased significantly.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

And as we look at our pipeline beyond what we have defined as sort of leases out or advanced stage, it's becoming increasingly balanced between New York and San Francisco in terms of proposals that we're aiming to advance and so forth and so on. So so San Francisco is beginning to heal. Availability was down 110 basis points quarter over quarter. There's certain data points that suggest things are really starting to percolate. But just as it relates to the experience we're having in the field, we are very active and things seem to be turning, which is encouraging.

Thomas Catherwood
MD & Analyst - REIT at BTIG

Got it. Appreciate those thoughts. And then, Peter, looking back to New York, given that leased occupancy in a few of your Midtown assets is now well into the nineties, where are you pushing rent? And are there buildings where you've started to test lower concession offerings? Or is that part still a ways off?

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

Yes. So so it's interesting. Of of the 38,000,000, 39,000,000 square feet of availability in in Midtown, 80% of it is concentrated on Floors 24 and below. And so I think it's a byproduct of the flight to quality phenomena that we've experienced. In other words, there's just a real scarcity of of high quality upper floor type product, and we are, exercising pricing power in every instance just about in our Midtown portfolio and starting to push rents.

Peter Brindley
Peter Brindley
Executive VP & Head of Real Estate at Paramount Group

That'll be the first, I think, component that drives net effective rents upward. In terms of concessions, they have remained, fairly flat. Our expectation is that maybe free rent comes in a little bit followed by TI. But whatever the case, they have remained fairly flat, but we certainly are identifying in buildings that are now well leased when and where we have an opportunity to start to start to sort of leverage, our high occupancy to to improve the overall economics of of these deals. But but suffice it to say, when and where we have availability on upper floors, we are we are really starting to push in in all of our midtown properties.

Thomas Catherwood
MD & Analyst - REIT at BTIG

Got it. Appreciate the answers.

Operator

Thanks, everyone.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Thank you, Tom.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, as there are no further questions, I would now like to hand the conference over to Albert Baylor, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President for the closing comments.

Albert Behler
Albert Behler
Chairman, CEO & President at Paramount Group

Thank you all for joining us today. We'll be speaking again when we report third quarter results. Goodbye.

Operator

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, that brings us to the end of the call. You may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.

Executives
    • Tom Hennessy
      Tom Hennessy
      Vice President of Business Development and Investor Relations
    • Albert Behler
      Albert Behler
      Chairman, CEO & President
    • Peter Brindley
      Peter Brindley
      Executive VP & Head of Real Estate
    • Ermelinda Berberi
      Ermelinda Berberi
      EVP, CFO & Treasurer
Analysts
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