Expensive Offices
Written on 8:04 PM by Saif Rehman
London retains the number one slot as the most expensive office market in the world, with occupation costs reaching as much as $329 per square foot in the West End and $181 per square foot in the City. Rents at the top of the market have been inflated by demand from hedge funds and financial boutiques competing for the best buildings.
Even if this top tier is ignored, renters in the West End still face the world’s most expensive office costs by a sizable margin.
The overall composition of the Top Ten most expensive cities in the world has not changed over the last six months, but several markets have moved up the ranking.
Mumbai, India now has the world’s second highest occupation costs: $190 per square foot (5% more expensive than the City of London.) Moscow also continues to see strong growth in prime rents, and has moved up from sixth in the global ranking earlier this year to fourth in the latest survey, causing the two main Tokyo markets to fall back to fifth and sixth places.
The EMEA region continues to dominate the Top 50 with 32 markets, followed by Asia Pacific with 11 cities. North America has five representatives, led by New York Midtown with strong Canadian influence from Calgary and Toronto followed by Los Angeles and New York Downtown.
Exchange rates continue to influence the movement of dollar-denominated occupancy costs. The continued weakening of the U.S. dollar against most international currencies has contributed to increases in occupation costs. Over the past year, rents expressed in dollar terms have risen by up to 15% in the rest of the world simply due to currency fluctuations.
The Ten Most Expensive Office Markets, ranked by occupation cost in US$/sqft annum
- London (West End), England 328.91
- Mumbai (Bombay), India 189.51
- London (City), England 180.80
- Moscow, Russia 180.78
- Tokyo (Inner Central), Japan 178.61
- Tokyo (Outer Central), Japan 154.56
- Paris, France 127.48
- New Delhi, India 126.73
- Dublin, Ireland 113.66
- Hong Kong 106.31
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