Occupancy costs per person, which includes rent, taxes, management fees, continues to hit new highs around the world. Here is a list of the top 15 most expensive cities and markets in them. It consists of large office spaces in prime office markets.

2005 Rank--City, market------------Occupancy cost per person
1) London West End----------------$19,330
2)Paris-----------------------------$15,520
3)London City----------------------$15,280
4)Washington, D.C.-----------------$14,250
5)Frankfurt-------------------------$13,640
6)Tokyo Central--------------------$13,400
7)Dublin----------------------------$12,740
8)New York Midtown----------------$12,200
9)Munich---------------------------$12,010
10)Stockholm-----------------------$10,780
11)Amsterdam----------------------$9,740
12)Edinburgh-----------------------$9,680
13)Toronto-------------------------$9,670
14)Hong Kong (tied)----------------$9,320
14)Seoul (tied)---------------------$9,320

The source of this list was DTZ Research and it was printed in USA Today on Tuesday, May 31.

Since the costs are listed in US Dollars I would assume that exchange rates played a sizable role in determining the results.

didnt know dublin was that high.

Typical USA today tripe. Why not cost to rent space on a square foot/square meter basis so a real comparison could be made?

USA Today=tripe...Yes. DTZ Research=?

Toronto higher than Hong Kong? That sounds a bit far-fetched...

Toronto has a 10%+ Commerical A vacancy rate.. what rates did they use for this survey?

Is this annual or monthly? and I guess it's per sq.ft. not sq.m.

This list is wrong with respect to NY based simply upon the fact that NY is WAY more expensive than DC.

Typical USA today tripe. Why not cost to rent space on a square foot/square meter basis so a real comparison could be made?

I was gonna say.

Doing it by Sq ft in 2004 the most expensive was London, London City, Paris, Tokyo, Birmingham

Office Occupation...Mumbai 15th most expensive city

CB Richard Ellis, the world’s largest Real Estate Consulting firm, today announced the findings of the global trends in the prime office occupation costs. Mumbai was placed at 15 (up two ranks from last quarter ranking of 17) and Delhi got the 32nd rank for itself (up 6 ranks from the last quarter, ranking of 38), respectively. Though, the real estate cost in India remained firm, this upward movement in the ranks is attributed to the decline in the occupation costs globally. Of the top 50 most expensive office locations in the world, 29 experienced a fall in total occupation cost (in dollar terms) over the last six months.

According to Anshuman Magazine, Managing Director, CB Richard Ellis, South Asia, "Given the low per capita income in India, and the high real estate costs, there is a substantial mismatch. A lower ranking would have further helped encourage investments into the otherwise booming Indian real estate industry. However, the present situation is not a deterrent. The real estate market in India is looking up and is on track to achieve the expected space take-up of 20 m Sq ft by the end of the year 2004."

According to the CB Richard Ellis survey, there were 17 of the top 50 locations where the total (dollar) occupation cost rose. Three of these experienced increases of over 10%, London's West End, New Delhi and Hong Kong. The biggest increase (of all 158 locations surveyed) came in London’s West End, where there was a 19% increase in occupation cost over the last six months. In Rome, Toronto, Paris and Milan the fall was over 10%. As the dollar stabilised over the last six months, gaining slightly against some currencies, this fall can be blamed mainly on falling rental values. Outside the top 50 the biggest fall was in Caracas, Venezuela, where the occupation cost has fallen by 30% over the last year to $20.62 /sq ft/annum due to the weak economy in Venezuela.

This increase maintains London's West End as the most expensive office location in the world at $177.39 /sq ft/annum, with a much increased margin. Not only has there been a slight increase in the value of sterling against the dollar, but the West End has experienced a sharp rise in prime office rents over the last six months. There is now a 48% difference between the total occupation cost in the West End and the second most expensive location, which is London's 'City' area at $119.49 /sq ft/annum.

Looking at all 158 locations in the survey there were 43 markets where (dollar) occupation costs increased, compared to 105 that experienced a fall.

There are only two new entries in the global top 50 most expensive office locations since the last survey at the end of 2003. Both are markets in Shanghai (Pudong and Puxi). As China’s currency has an exchange rate that is loosely pegged to the US dollar, the rise of these two locations up the global league table is as a result of changes in value locally over the last few years.

There are now only four US locations in the top 50, compared to ten that were in the top 50 three years ago.

The most expensive US location is now Midtown Manhattan, which ranks 20th at $52.04 /sq ft/annum.

City Occupation Cost

US$ /sq ft/annum
€ /sq m/month
£ /sq ft/annum

1
London (West End), England
177.39
131.23
96.50

2
London (City), England
119.49
88.39
65.00

3
Tokyo (Inner Central), Japan
116.23
85.98
63.23

4
Tokyo (Outer Central), Japan
105.38
77.96
57.33

5
Paris, France
83.82
62.01
45.60

6
Birmingham, England
74.45
55.07
40.50

7
Edinburgh, Scotland
69.39
51.33
37.75

8
Manchester, England
68.93
50.99
37.50

9
Dublin, Ireland
67.82
50.17
36.89

10
Moscow, Russia
66.13
48.92
35.97

11
Glasgow, Scotland
64.34
47.59
35.00

12
Zurich, Switzerland
62.80
46.45
34.16

13
Milan, Italy
60.66
44.87
33.00

14
Frankfurt, Germany
58.87
43.55
32.02

15
Mumbai (Bombay), India
56.83
42.04
30.92

16
Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
56.12
41.52
30.53

17
Geneva, Switzerland
56.07
41.48
30.50

18
Seoul, South Korea
54.19
40.08
29.48

19
Munich, Germany
52.88
39.12
28.77

20
New York –Midtown Manhattan
52.04
38.50
28.31

21
Stockholm, Sweden
49.90
36.91
27.15

22
Brussels, Belgium
49.57
36.67
26.96

23
Rome, Italy
49.55
36.66
26.96

24
Hong Kong
48.39
35.80
26.32

25
Madrid, Spain
47.45
35.10
25.81

26
Athens, Greece
47.36
35.03
25.76

27
Washington DC (CBD)
46.78
34.61
25.45

28
Sydney, Australia
45.55
33.69
24.78

29
Boston (CBD)
42.76
31.63
23.26

30
Warsaw, Poland
42.61
31.52
23.18

31
Amsterdam, Netherlands
42.12
31.16
22.91

32
New Delhi, India
40.62
30.05
22.10

33
Barcelona, Spain
40.12
29.68
21.83

34
San Juan, Puerto Rico
39.44
29.18
21.46

35
New York – Downtown Manhattan
38.19
28.25
20.78

36
Taipei, Taiwan
37.82
27.98
20.58

37
Shanghai (Pudong), China
37.38
27.65
20.34

38
Toronto, Canada (CBD)
35.78
26.47
19.46

39
Copenhagen, Denmark
35.40
26.18
19.26

40
Mexico City, Mexico
35.20
26.04
19.15

41
Helsinki, Finland
35.05
25.93
19.07

42
Lisbon, Portugal
34.71
25.68
18.88

43
Berlin, Germany
34.61
25.60
18.83

44
Prague, Czech Republic
34.55
25.56
18.79

45
Nassau, Bahamas
34.50
25.52
18.77

46
Beijing, China
33.83
25.03
18.41

47
Shanghai (Puxi), China
33.51
24.79
18.23

48
Vienna, Austria
33.44
24.74
18.19

49
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
32.96
24.38
17.93

50
Hamburg, Germany
32.79
24.26
17.84

Edinburgh was higher than I ever thought

I wonder if municipal property taxes play a major role in these rankings. It's interesting that although HK has one of the highest office rents in the world, it ranks so low when rents are bundled with other occupancy costs. Since the Hong Kong $ is pegged to the US$, The weak US$ may also make Hong Kong less expensive relative to other cities whose national currencies have risen against the greenback.

I wonder if municipal property taxes play a major role in these rankings. It's interesting that although HK has one of the highest office rents in the world, it ranks so low when rents are bundled with other occupancy costs. Since the Hong Kong $ is pegged to the US$, The weak US$ may also make Hong Kong less expensive relative to other cities whose national currencies have risen against the greenback.

Good point... The ratios of the dollar to the Euro and Pound throw these numbers out of whack.

Taxes must definately play a role in inflating the numbers for some cities.


6
Birmingham, England
74.45
55.07
40.50

7
Edinburgh, Scotland
69.39
51.33
37.75

8
Manchester, England
68.93
50.99
37.50


Above Hong Kong and New York????
And how is Ho Chi Minh City on the list. Are these numbers based on local purchasing power?

1
London (West End), England
177.39
131.23
96.50

2
London (City), England
119.49
88.39
65.00

6
Birmingham, England
74.45
55.07
40.50

7
Edinburgh, Scotland
69.39
51.33
37.75

8
Manchester, England
68.93
50.99
37.50

9
Dublin, Ireland
67.82
50.17
36.89

11
Glasgow, Scotland
64.34
47.59
35.00

A great list.

London has such ridiculous prices! I believe is the most expensive city in the world, am i right?

Taxes must definately play a role in inflating the numbers for some cities.



Above Hong Kong and New York????
And how is Ho Chi Minh City on the list. Are these numbers based on local purchasing power?


Yes, its called lack of office space.

These cities are in one of the worlds largest economies, but in the future, although they will stay high will drop quite a bit with new speculative office schemes being built :cheers:

Taxes must definately play a role in inflating the numbers for some cities.



Above Hong Kong and New York????
And how is Ho Chi Minh City on the list. Are these numbers based on local purchasing power?

Those cities' rents vis-a-vis New York's and those in Continental Europe are DEFINITELY skewed by the dollar's deep fall versus the Sterling and Euro. Also, I do wonder if the European figures reflect 18.75 percent VAT taxes. Shoppers comparing prices between the US and Europe often fail to grasp that when a Timex watch in London that costs 10 Sterling and a Timex Watch in LA that costs $10 does not reflect an even pound for dollar exchange. The 10 sterling figure has 18.75% VAT built in to the price. By contrast, LA sales tax will be added to the $10 figure.

Since the costs are listed in US Dollars I would assume that exchange rates played a sizable role in determining the results.

Of course it makes a difference! Whenever something is compared on a dollar basis there is going to be a lot of "strange results."

The USA Today article was mainly about a gentleman in Kowloon, HKSAR who could no longer afford the rent on his little store.

The article mentioned that there was very little commercial office space being constructed in HK. They said the last major commercial office space constructed was the International Finance Center. I don't know if they meant building I or II.

One other note. Because HK's dollar is pegged to the US dollar, which is very low in value, much of the real estate in HK would then tend to be low in value and foreigners whose money is very strong would be able to push up rents.

2 IFC had a huge impact on Hong Kong's office market, releasing several million square feet of space. It took a while to lease everything out, especially since the building was completed shortly after the SARS outbreak. 2 IFC was designed for financial institutions with its high ceilings and utility areas for a trading floor setting. Since then, only smaller new office buildings were completed, such as AIG and 1 Peking.

In the past two years, local office rents have skyrocketed as the economy recovered. Those who signed leases during SARS got a good deal.

I can't beleive 5 cities out of the top 10 are british, I didn't realise office space was so exspensive here. Is there a full list anywhere so I can see where the smaller British cities rank, and see where Canary Warf is (I would've thought it would've been in the top 50)

Those cities' rents vis-a-vis New York's and those in Continental Europe are DEFINITELY skewed by the dollar's deep fall versus the Sterling and Euro. Also, I do wonder if the European figures reflect 18.75 percent VAT taxes. Shoppers comparing prices between the US and Europe often fail to grasp that when a Timex watch in London that costs 10 Sterling and a Timex Watch in LA that costs $10 does not reflect an even pound for dollar exchange. The 10 sterling figure has 18.75% VAT built in to the price. By contrast, LA sales tax will be added to the $10 figure.
Companies don't pay VAT...

I can't beleive 5 cities out of the top 10 are british, I didn't realise office space was so exspensive here.


Thast partly why they changed the list from per sq foot to per person. For whatever reason british compnsis genrally fit more peopel in per sq foot thn other countires and therefore can afford to pay more per sq foot.

Of course it makes a difference! Whenever something is compared on a dollar basis there is going to be a lot of "strange results."

.


How else could you compare things?????????????????