Study: The most expensive office locations worldwide

20 Feb, 2012, Frankfurt

Global lease prices stable with an upward trend

• Hong Kong, London and Tokyo are still the most expensive office locations in the world
• Three of the five highest lease prices achieved in Asia
• Moscow and Beijing rising through the ranks
• Rio de Janeiro falls from fourth to eighth place
• Zurich in the top ten once again
• Germany amongst the top 20, Austria losing more ground

Hong Kong remains the world's most expensive office location. The gross lease price here is 168.83 Euros per square metre/month, which represents a slight increase of around 5% on the previous year. This was the case last year too, London's West End is the second most expensive office location (164 Euros per square metre/month) and Tokyo is establishing itself in third place (136.25 Euros per sqm/month). The greatest strides were made by Moscow and Beijing. Moscow rose from seventh to fourth place, with the top lease price in the Russian capital reaching 101. Euros per sqm of office space - an increase of 41% on the previous year. The biggest rise, however, was recorded by Beijing, where the top lease price shot up from 49.57 Euros per sqm/month to 90.17 Euros per sqm/month (+81.9%). This means that three of the five most expensive office locations can now be found in Asia.

According to the annual "Office Space Across the World" study conducted by international real estate consultants Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), top lease prices remained largely stable during 2011. Although lease prices did rise significantly in certain cases last year, worldwide the picture is a fairly steady one, albeit with an upward trend. Apart from Moscow and Beijing, no other cities have really broken away from the pack and recorded significant increases.

Rio de Janeiro, which last year became the first Latin-American city to make the top five, dropped four places in 2011 and now finds itself in eighth place. Lease prices of up to 75.33 Euros per sqm/month are demanded in the Brazilian metropolis, which equates to a fall of around 6%. New York is once again the most expensive office location on the American continent (82.67 Euros per sqm/month). The sharpest drop in top lease prices was recorded in India's coastal metropolis of Mumbai, where they have fallen by about 32%, currently standing at 52.17 Euros per sqm/month.

The 50 most expensive office locations in the world 2012

Rank	Location		Gross lease price in euros per square metre per month
1	Hong Kong		168.83
2	London		164.83
3	Tokyo		136.25
4	Moscow		101.92
5	Beijing		90.17
6	New York		82.67
7	Sydney		82.25
8	Rio de Janeiro		75.33
9	Paris		72.92
10	Zurich		67.42
11	Singapore		65.25
12	Milan		60.17
13	Stockholm		57.83
14	Oslo		52.50
15	Mumbai		52.17
16	Luxembourg City		51.75
17	Almaty		46.33
18	Taipei		45.33
19	Munich		43.25
20	Abu Dhabi		42.33
21	Amsterdam		42.17
22	Beirut		41.00
23	Athens		40.25
24	Madrid		39.67
25	Hanoi		37.67
26	Dublin		37.25
27	Istanbul		36.83
28	Warsaw		36.50
29	Brussels		36.25
30	Caracas		35.42
31		Tel Aviv	34.58
32		Vancouver	34.33
33		Seoul	33.08
34		Auckland	32.08
35		Helsinki	32.00
36		Vienna	31.75
37		Kuala Lumpur	31.42
38		Copenhagen	30.50
39		Prague	30.08
40		Budapest	30.00
41		Kiev	28.08
42		Bucharest	27.67
43		Bogota	27.50
44		Buenos Aires	27.00
45		Lisbon	25.92
46		Mexico City	25.50
47		Bratislava	24.75
48		Manama	24.50
49		Santiago de Chile	23.50
50		Jakarta	22.75

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Office Space Across the World 2012

Europe's top lease price rises by 2% overall
In Europe top lease prices are developing in a range of very different ways, as was the case last year too. However, the majority of Europe's top lease prices are on the rise. Way out in front is Moscow, where the top lease price has increased by around 41%. Moscow is followed by Oslo (+14%), Helsinki (+13.5%), Stockholm (+9.7%) London's West End (+5.7%) and Almaty in Kazakhstan (+5.3%). By contrast, slightly falling prices can be seen in Milan, where the top lease price dropped by just short of 1% to 60.17 Euros per sqm/month.

Development varies in German-speaking nations

Germany's economy is growing once more, with GDP increasing by 3% in 2011, and this rise in the country's economic fortunes is reflected in the office market. In 2011, the lease volume in the top locations of Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt am Main, Hamburg and Munich stood at 2.89 million square metres of office space. This represents an increase in letting turnover of around 18% compared to the previous year.
The office market in German-speaking nations is becoming more and more stable. Germany rose four places, from 23 to 19, whilst Zurich continues to hang on persistently in the top ten: the top lease price here increased by 3% on last year, to 67.42 Euros per sqm/month gross. Austria dropped down the rankings once more: the top lease price in Vienna is 31.75 Euros per sqm/month, which equates to a fall of around 4.6%.

The highest net lease price was achieved in Frankfurt, where tenants have to pay up to 34.00 Euros per sqm/month net. Frankfurt is followed by Munich at 30.50 Euros per sqm/month net, Dusseldorf at 24.00 Euros per sqm/month net, Hamburg at 23.50 Euros per sqm/month net and Berlin at 21.50 Euros per sqm/month net.

The most expensive office locations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland 2012

City	Location	Net lease price in euros per square metre/month
Berlin	CBD	21.50
Frankfurt	CBD	34.00
Hamburg	CBD	23.50
Dusseldorf	CBD	24.00
Munich	CBD	30.50
Vienna	Central	26.47
Innsbruck	CBD	12.65
Zurich	CBD	62.72
Geneva	CBD	58.80

Source: Cushman & Wakefield Office Space Across the World 2012

back to real estate News & Events

Printer Friendly Version

Contact Us

For further information, please contact:

Susanne Weber
+49 69 50 60 73 - 365

More contacts