Hong Kong remains world’s most expensive office market

Hong Kong is once again the world’s highest priced office market according to CBRE’s semi-annual Global Prime Office Rents survey. The study also found that markets in the Americas and EMEA showed the most consistent growth in rent.

“Prime rents showed the strongest growth in information technology and media hubs, including Stockholm, Amsterdam, Tel Aviv, New York and Seattle,” said Richard Barkham, global chief economist, CBRE. “Co-working operators have been active in acquiring new space, particularly targeting tenants in tech industries.”

Asia dominated the top 10 most expensive markets in the world, with Hong Kong holding two of the top three most expensive office markets. Hong Kong’s (Central) overall prime office rent of $269 per square foot per year was followed by Beijing (Finance Street) at $174 per square foot, and Hong Kong (West Kowloon) at $164 per square foot.

New York (Midtown Manhattan) and Beijing (CBD) rounded the top five, with Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi), Shanghai (Pudong) and New Delhi (Connaught Place - CBD) also featuring in the top 10 most expensive list.

Global prime office rents — which reflect rent, excluding local taxes and service charges for the highest quality, prime office properties — rose 2 percent year-over-year, with the Americas performing the strongest, up 3.4 percent. Asia Pacific was up 1.2 percent.

“Prime office rents are growing firmly at the top end of the market, reflecting strong demand for premium space across Asia Pacific. We are seeing prime office rental growth outstripping the overall market performance,” said Ada Choi, director of research, CBRE Asia Pacific.

^{Source: CBRE Research, H1 2017}