Sydney slips to seventh on list of world’s most expensive office locations 2012
Rank 2011 | Rank 2012 | Location | Occupancy Cost | Occupancy Cost US | Rental growth/decline (%) |
1 | 1 | Hong Kong | 2026 | 244 | 1 |
2 | 2 | London (West End) | 1978 | 239 | 8 |
3 | 3 | Tokyo | 1635 | 197 | 7 |
7 | 4 | Moscow | 1223 | 148 | 41 |
n/a | 5 | Beijing | 1082 | 130 | 75 |
5 | 6 | New York (Midtown) | 992 | 120 | 4 |
6 | 7 | Sydney | 987 | 119 | 6 |
4 | 8 | Rio de Janeiro | 904 | 109 | -8 |
9 | 9 | Paris | 875 | 106 | 5 |
10 | 10 | Zurich | 809 | 98 | -3 |
Source: Cushman & Wakefield 2011
David Woolford, Cushman & Wakefield managing director, Australia, emphasised that although Sydney fell by one place in the rankings, it is clearly a world-class city.
“A comparison of occupancy costs between Sydney, New York and London shows the strength of the property market in Sydney. It is important to understand however that this is an average occupancy cost calculation across the numerous city submarkets, each of which has the capacity to vary significantly depending on building grade and location,” Woolford says.
“These variations can be quite dramatic, so it’s important to understand these submarkets before any location decisions are made.”
Technical notes: For comparison purposes, since rents are often quoted on a different measurement basis in different markets, occupancy costs in the chart above are inclusive of office rents that have been standardized by adjusting the rent to a net internal area basis. In addition, total occupancy costs take into account service charges and local taxes to allow direct comparisons between countries.