The nation’s economy may still be weak, but that’s not stopping investors from getting more bullish about the Manhattan office market, according to the second-quarter findings of the PwC Real Estate Investor Survey. In fact, one key indicator of investors’ confidence in the Manhattan office market has hit its most bullish reading since 2008, a reading which makes Manhattan the best among 18 big-city real estate markets.

Manhattan’s average overall capitalization rate was 5.83% for the second quarter of this year, which is the first time since 2008 that the figure has fallen below 6%. A capitalization rate, usually calculated by dividing an asset’s net annual income by its purchase price, indicates how fast an asset will pay for itself. The lower the figure, the less risk an asset is perceived to have. In second-ranked Washington, the cap rate is 6.13%. In third-ranked San Francisco, it’s 7.11%.

“This is a market that is showing better stability and better recovery than most other major office markets,” said Susan Smith, editor-in-chief of the investor survey.

Another important confidence indicator in the survey, market rent change, reached 3.5%. This figure shows how much, and in what direction, rents are expected to move over the next year. The figure shows that investors anticipate continued growth in leasing at least through the near term.

“This market continues to have good leasing dynamics, good balance between supply and demand,” Ms. Smith said. “There is a lot of optimism in this market.”