The first place in the ranking of the most expensive office locations in the world is occupied by the central business district of Hong Kong, where the costs of lease amount to around 232 EUR/sq. m/month. The second place belongs to West End in London, the third – to Financial Street in Beijing, and the fourth – to the Central Business District which is also located in the capital of China. The fifth most expensive city is the West Kowloon district, that is Hong Kong again.
10 most expensive office locations in the world:
| POSITION |
LOCATION |
COSTS OF LEASE (EUR/sq. m/month) |
| 1st | Hong Kong (City Center), Hong Kong | 231.75 |
| 2nd | London - City Center (West End), Great Britain | 209.46 |
| 3rd | Beijing (Financial Street), China | 150.19 |
| 4th | Beijing (CBD), China | 145.02 |
| 5th | Hong Kong (West Kowloon), Hong Kong | 143.34 |
| 6th | Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi district), Japan | 128.15 |
| 7th | New Delhi (Connaught Place - CBD), India | 119.55 |
| 8th | London - City Center (City), Great Britain | 116.10 |
| 9th | New York (Midtown Manhattan), USA | 109.17 |
| 10th | Szanghai (Pudong), China | 106.03 |
Source: CBRE, 2016
CBRE has analyzed 126 places around the world in the research on costs of lease in offices. Among the first 50 most expensive cities, 20 of them concern locations from Asia-Pacific, 20 from the EMEA region (that is Europe, Central East and Africa) and 10 from both Americas. According to the report, the most expensive costs of lease are recorded in Hong Kong, Dublin, Stockholm and Monterrey. On the other hand, the greatest losses are recorded in Calgary in Canada (-16.8 per cent), Palma de Mallorca in Spain (-16.2 per cent), Santiago in Chile (-13.8 per cent), Singapore (-13.8 per cent) and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil (-12.4 per cent).
The great majority of markets in Central and Eastern Europe have recorded losses within a year (except for Moscow). However, the global list of 10 most expensive places included London two times with such districts as West End (209 EUR/sq. m/month) and City (116 EUR/sq. m/month).
The fall in rental rates is also recorded in, for instance, Warsaw, which is on the 80th place in the ranking of the most expensive office locations in the world. In result of oversupply, the accepted rents are at a relatively low level in Warsaw. The most attractive office areas are rented for around 23.00 EUR/sq. m/month, not including numerous invitations offered to tenants. The total lease costs fell by 3.3 per cent in Warsaw within a year – says Katarzyna Gajewska, Senior Consultant in Department of Consulting and Market Analyses, CBRE.