WASHINGTON — Office rents in downtown D.C. are notoriously high — among the highest central business district Class A rents in the nation. But on a worldwide stage, D.C. looks relatively cheap.
CBRE Group Inc.’s annual rankings of the most expensive office markets in the world includes just one U.S. city in the top 10: Midtown Manhattan comes in sixth, with an average prime office rent of $144.37 per square foot.
At the top of the list is Hong Kong’s central district, where prime office rents are almost twice midtown Manhattan’s, at an average of $264.27 per square foot.
Downtown D.C. shows up at No. 31 on this year’s list, with average Class A office rent at $59.49 per square foot.
Overall office rents increased in 19 out of the 34 U.S. markets covered in the CBRE survey, including a 1.3 percent increase in Class A rents in downtown DC.
The most significant growth was in downtown Chicago, suburban Seattle and downtown Seattle, all showing double-digit year-over-year growth.
CBRE says global prime office rents, excluding local taxes and service charges, for the highest-quality office properties rose an average of 2.3 percent over a year earlier.
“We expect the global economy to pick up momentum with growth boosted by fiscal expansion in the U.S.,” said CBRE global chief economist Richard Barkham. “Growth was underpinned by positive monetary conditions in Europe and increased government spending in China, both of which are expected to continue.”
| Here are 50 most expensive office rent markets currently, in U.S. dollars per square foot, according to CBRE: |
|---|
| 1 Hong Kong (Central), Hong Kong 264.27 |
| 2 Beijing (Finance Street), China 178.89 |
| 3 Hong Kong (West Kowloon), Hong Kong 162.69 |
| 4 Beijing (CBD), China 156.09 |
| 5 London (West End), United Kingdom 146.14 |
| 6 New York (Midtown Manhattan), U.S. 144.37 |
| 7 Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi), Japan 127.21 |
| 8 Shanghai (Pudong), China 116.99 |
| 9 New Delhi (Connaught Place – CBD), India 105.49 |
| 10 Moscow, Russian Federation 101.47 |
| 11 New York (Midtown-South Manhattan), U.S. 95.89 |
| 12 Shanghai (Puxi), China 91.13 |
| 13 Paris, France 90.97 |
| 14 London (City), United Kingdom 90.93 |
| 15 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 89.85 |
| 16 San Francisco (Downtown), U.S. 88.55 |
| 17 New York (Downtown Manhattan), U.S. 82.19 |
| 18 Geneva, Switzerland 81.47 |
| 19 Mumbai (Bandra Kurla Complex), India 80.03 |
| 20 Sydney, Australia 77.70 |
| 21 Boston (Downtown), U.S. 76.25 |
| 22 Shenzhen, China 75.69 |
| 23 San Francisco (Peninsula), U.S. 75.57 |
| 24 Stockholm, Sweden 73.53 |
| 25 Zurich, Switzerland 71.88 |
| 26 Dublin, Ireland 70.29 |
| 27 Seoul (CBD), South Korea 67.82 |
| 28 Singapore, Singapore 65.04 |
| 29 Los Angeles (Suburban), U.S. 63.88 |
| 30 Mumbai (Nariman Point – CBD), India 61.16 |
| 31 Washington, D.C. (Downtown), U.S. 59.49 |
| 32 Seoul (Yeouido), South Korea 58.38 |
| 33 Milan, Italy 57.39 |
| 34 Taipei, Taiwan 56.34 |
| 35 Oslo, Norway 54.25 |
| 36 Istanbul, Turkey 53.41 |
| 37 Frankfurt, Germany 53.23 |
| 38 Helsinki, Finland 52.92 |
| 39 Guangzhou, China 50.47 |
| 40 Mexico City, Mexico 49.75 |
| 41 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 49.21 |
| 42 São Paulo, Brazil 48.92 |
| 43 Munich, Germany 48.21 |
| 44 Rome, Italy 45.91 |
| 45 Seattle (Downtown), U.S. 45.88 |
| 46 Brisbane, Australia 45.74 |
| 47 Perth, Australia 44.40 |
| 48 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 44.26 |
| 49 Manchester, United Kingdom 44.17 |
| 50 Amsterdam, Netherlands 43.80 |
