What real estate crisis?

Bidding wars between investment banks and law firms over space in Manhattan’s posh towers sent office rents soaring 35 percent in 2006 – a record and the highest in the nation.

Prime office space in Manhattan became more scarce last year, with just one new office tower opening in the last 12 months – 7 World Trade Center.

“The most significant thing is that companies aren’t threatening anymore to leave Manhattan for New Jersey or Long Island City – they’ve got a great desire to be in Manhattan,” said Robert Sammons, research director at Colliers ABR, a leading commercial brokerage.

“Besides the status of a Manhattan address, the workforce and quality of life are also better here,” he said.

Colliers’ annual report said that prime commercial space in Manhattan jumped to a record $68.29 per share foot – nearly double the cost from a decade ago. The rent a typical Manhattan business pays is approaching $7 million a year.

But an office suite at the best addresses along Park Avenue in the East 50s costs the same company as much as $18 million for its rent, or about $175 a square foot.

Midtown prime space is the priciest at $79.57 a square foot, with Wall Street at $48.43 and Midtown South the cheapest at $44.45.