The Most Expensive Office Market Remains in London.

London's West End remained the world's most costly office market, according to CBRE's annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, while Asia continued to dominate the world's most costly office locations, accounting for three of the top five markets. rent in qatar

The survey also discovered that rents are rising at the greatest rate in the Americas, where real estate fundamentals are steadily improving. Overall, five of the ten markets with the fastest-growing occupancy prices were in the United States. Seattle (Suburban), San Francisco (Downtown), San Francisco (Peninsula), Houston (Suburban), and Houston (Peninsula) were the markets in question (Downtown).

The "most costly" list was topped by London West End's overall occupancy charges of US$277 per sq. ft. per year. With total occupancy costs of US$242 per sq. ft., Hong Kong (Central) came in second. The top five cities were Beijing (Finance Street) (US$194 per sq. ft.), Beijing (Central Business District (CBD)) (US$187 per sq. ft.), and Moscow (US$165 per sq. ft.).

The Americas (up 3.3 percent) and Asia Pacific (up 2.3 percent) led the way in terms of global prime office occupancy prices (up 2.9 percent ). Meanwhile, EMEA was virtually unchanged year over year, falling 0.1 percent. The regional results are in line with recent economic trends, which show that the American economy has outperformed the EMEA economy over the last year. While Asia Pacific's economy grew the fastest of the three regions, it also has a big pipeline of office projects in the works, putting downward pressure on costs in key areas.

"We believe that occupancy costs will begin to rise in the second half of 2014. Despite the fact that occupiers are still cost concerned, demand for prime office space continues to rise "CBRE Research's Global Chairman, Dr. Raymond Torto, said. "There is not enough new building to match demand in most markets, with the exception of a handful in Asia Pacific. As a result, market rents for prime properties are projected to rise in the coming months, which, when combined with the rising cost of maintaining office buildings, would drive up occupancy expenses in most areas."

CBRE monitors prime office space occupancy costs in 126 markets throughout the world. Twenty-one of the top fifty "expensive" markets were in EMEA, twenty in Asia Pacific, and nine in the Americas.

Currency exchange rates influence occupancy cost comparisons in US dollars. The annual percent change in occupancy expenses, on the other hand, is in local currency and is unaffected by currency fluctuations (except Jakarta, Indonesia where leases are typically written in U.S. dollars, but paid in rupiah, which means the occupancy cost increase is greatly affected by the currency depreciation in Indonesia).

Africa, the Middle East, and Europe (EMEA)

The world's most costly market was in EMEA, with London West End fetching US$277 per square foot every year. Vacancy rates in the West End are particularly low due to development constraints. The revival of the UK economy has resulted in a significant increase in demand for space. Throughout 2013 and into 2014, this demand, along with a scarcity of available space, has pushed prime rates upward.

Moscow (US$165 per sq. ft.), London City (US$154 per sq. ft.), and Paris (US$124 per sq. ft.) are among the top ten markets in the region.

Both Palma de Mallorca, Spain, and Lyon, France, had double-digit drops in prime occupancy costs over the past year, falling 13.0% and 10.8%, respectively, reflecting the impact of the ongoing Eurozone crisis.

Asia Pacific featured 20 of the top 50 most expensive markets, including six of the top ten: Hong Kong (Central), Beijing (Finance Street), Beijing (CBD), Hong Kong (West Kowloon), New Delhi (Connaught Place - CBD), and Tokyo (Marunouchi Otemachi).

Apart from London's West End, Hong Kong (Central) remained the only market in the world with an annual occupancy cost surpassing $200 per square foot. Due to the arrival of new office space at a time when occupiers are moving carefully in the market, Hong Kong (West Kowloon) fell one rank to sixth position, with an 8.0 percent fall in occupancy costs. However, occupancy costs are expected to begin rising in both regions in the coming months.

West Kowloon, which is only 10 minutes by subway from Central, is already home to major investment banks and has developed as a desirable location for cost-conscious tenants seeking excellent space close to the financial sector. Leasing activity in West Kowloon had slowed in the previous year, but after the Chinese New Year, demand for smaller space increased significantly, despite the market's low vacancy level making it difficult for larger occupiers to locate adequate space options.

Sydney, which ranked 17th in the global list, was the most costly market in the Pacific Region (US$106 per sq. ft. per annum).

High-tech and energy-related businesses in markets like Seattle (Suburban), San Francisco (Downtown), San Francisco (Peninsula), Houston (Suburban) and Houston (Downtown) posted some of the strongest annual prime office occupancy gains, with Seattle (Suburban) reporting a significant 19.4 percent annual increase in occupancy costs. Rents have risen in these markets as a result of highly tight market conditions, with strong demand from technology and energy tenants, paired with low vacancy rates, allowing landlords to considerably raise rents.

The Americas was once again headed by New York Midtown, which had the world's 11th most expensive prime office occupancy cost of US$121 per square foot.

Rio de Janeiro, with an office occupancy cost of US$110 per square foot and a rating of 13th most expensive market internationally, remained the most costly market in Latin America.