Financial centers have been most significantly affected by declining occupier demand and, as one would expect, registered the most material decreases in office rents. In many cases, major global office markets have seen occupancy costs fall by 20% or more over the last 12 months. Across the 170 cities as a whole, office occupancy costs fell 2.8% over the 12 month period ending March 31, 2009 (on an un-weighted average basis) compared with an increase of 8.0% in the 12 month period ending September 30, 2008 Singapore had the largest year over year decrease in occupancy costs with a drop of 34%.
Some markets did record increases in costs over the last 12 months but these markets--such as Charlotte (U.S.), Marseille (France) and Perth (Australia)--are very much the exception rather than the rule. Generally, these increases are either due to exceptional local market conditions, such as the completion of a top quality new building in a market where none was available previously, or simply that occupancy costs remain above the level of a year ago despite the fact that they are now falling. Such situations illustrate the uneven way in which the economic downturn is affecting different markets around the globe, according to the CBRE report.
"The great global recession has clearly taken its toll on the world's office markets, particularly those with significant concentrations of financial industry employers," said Dr. Raymond Torto, CBRE's Global Chief Economist. "The most expensive office markets, as measured in dollars, are considerably less expensive than a year ago and occupiers are now in a strong position to procure prime space at attractive costs. For instance, a year ago office space in London's West end was nearly $300 per sq. ft., while today that space goes for $172 per sq. ft."
Asia-Pacific
Tokyo (Inner Central) was the world's most expensive market with an occupancy cost of $183 per sq. ft. Hong Kong (CBD) was the fourth most expensive global market with occupancy costs of $150 per sq. ft. Tokyo (Outer Central) and Mumbai were the other two Asia-Pacific markets in the top 10 most expensive cities roster.
Singapore, while experiencing the largest drop in occupancy costs, was not alone among Asia-Pacific financial centers in seeing a sharp decline. Hong Kong, Tokyo and Mumbai posted large drops in office occupancy costs. Conversely, Perth had the second fastest growing occupancy cost during the past 12 months with costs rising 22%, although it's important to note that the increase took place in 2008.
Europe
London's West End was the world's second most expensive office market at $172 per sq. ft. and Moscow was a close third with occupancy costs at $170 per sq. ft. Dubai, Paris, the City of London and Dublin all were in the top ten most expensive markets.
Twelve cities in the region posted doubled digit declines in office cost. Moscow had the sharpest decline in the region followed closely by Oslo (Norway), while occupancy costs in London's West End, previously the most expensive market in our report, fell 20%. In addition to Marseille, Durban (South Africa) was among the world's top five markets with occupancy cost growing by 18% during the past 12 months.
Americas
The most expensive office location in the Americas is still New York's Midtown with occupancy costs of $68 per sq. ft. However, that market's occupancy costs declined 32%--the second steepest decline in the global survey. While occupancy costs in New York's Midtown are high for North America, it ranked just 21st globally. Boston's suburban market posted a decrease of nearly 30%, putting that market in fourth position in the top decreases chart in the report.
Sao Paulo (Brazil) posted the Latin American region's highest occupancy costs at $57 per sq. ft. and is ranked 33rd globally. Latin America has held up better than the rest of the world with only three cities posting small negative growth rates, the worst being Mexico City with a 5.6 percent decrease. Nine markets in North America posted double digit declines.
Top Ten Fastest Changing
Most Occupancy Costs
Expensive Markets
(In US$ per sq. ft. per (In local currency &
annum) measure)
US$/SF/annum % Change
1. Tokyo, (Inner Central) 183.62 Top 5 Decreases
2. London (West End) 172.62 1. Singapore -34.4
3. Moscow 170.24 2. New York (Midtown) -31.5
4. Hong Kong (CBD) 150.42 3. Hong Kong (CBD) -29.9
5. Tokyo (Outer Central) 149.58 4. Boston (suburban) -29.7
6. Mumbai 131.04 5. Hong Kong (Citywide) -28.5
7. Dubai 122.52
8. Paris 114.89 Top 5 Increases
9. London (City) 103.50 1. Marseille 30.4
10. Dublin 93.56 2. Perth 22.2
3. Santo Domingo 21.7
4. Durban 18.2
5. Charlotte 14.2
Note: The full Top 50 Most Expensive Markets chart is located at the end of this press release.
About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world's largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2008 revenue). The Company has approximately 30,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. CB Richard Ellis has been named a BusinessWeek 50 "best in class" company three years in a row and a Fortune 100 fastest growing company two years in a row. Please visit our Web site at www.cbre.com.
Notes to Editors
1. Global MarketView/Office Occupancy Costs is a survey of office occupation costs for prime office space in more than 170 cities worldwide.
2. The latest survey provides data on office rents and occupancy costs as of March 31, 2009
3. The Fastest Changing rankings are based upon occupancy costs in local currency and measure. The Most Expensive ranking is based upon occupancy costs in US$ per sq. ft. per annum.
4. The figures given in this release refer to occupancy cost. This represents rent, plus local taxes and service charges. The occupation cost figures have also been adjusted to reflect different measurement practices from market to market.
5. To obtain a full copy of the report or to arrange to speak with a CBRE expert, please contact Robert McGrath at 212.984.8267 or robert.mcgrath@cbre.com.
Top 50 Most Expensive Office Markets as of March 31, 2009 (converted to U.S. dollars)
Rank Market US$/sq ft/annum EUR /sq m/month GBP /sq ft/annum Aus$/sq m/annum Can$/sq ft/annum JPY /sq ft/annum 1 Tokyo, (Inner Central), Japan 183.62 124.30 128.17 2,856 231.49 18,149 2 London (West End), England 172.62 116.85 120.49 2,685 217.62 17,061 3 Moscow, Russia 170.24 115.25 118.83 2,648 214.62 16,827 4 Hong Kong (CBD) 150.42 101.83 104.99 2,340 189.63 14,867 5 Tokyo (Outer Central), Japan 149.58 101.26 104.41 2,327 188.58 14,785 6 Mumbai, India 131.04 88.71 91.47 2,038 165.20 12,952 7 Dubai, United Arab Emirates 122.52 82.94 85.52 1,906 154.46 12,110 8 Paris, France 114.89 77.78 80.20 1,787 144.85 11,356 9 London (City), England 103.50 70.06 72.24 1,610 130.48 10,230 10 Dublin, Ireland 93.56 63.33 65.30 1,455 117.95 9,247 11 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 91.21 61.74 63.66 1,419 114.99 9,015 12 New Delhi, India 86.94 58.86 60.69 1,352 109.61 8,593 13 Paris La Defense, France 86.04 58.24 60.05 1,338 108.47 8,504 14 Hong Kong (Citywide) 84.47 57.18 58.96 1,314 106.49 8,349 15 Singapore, Singapore 82.79 56.04 57.78 1,288 104.37 8,183 16 Milan, Italy 80.89 54.76 56.46 1,258 101.98 7,996 17 Luxembourg City, Luxembourg 77.58 52.52 54.15 1,207 97.81 7,668 18 Zurich, Switzerland 76.69 51.91 53.53 1,193 96.68 7,580 19 Geneva, Switzerland 73.42 49.70 51.25 1,142 92.56 7,257 20 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 70.27 47.57 49.05 1,093 88.59 6,945 21 New York Midtown, U.S. 68.63 46.46 47.90 1,067 86.52 6,783 22 Frankfurt am Main, Germany 68.30 46.24 47.67 1,062 86.11 6,751 23 Edinburgh, Scotland 66.61 45.09 46.49 1,036 83.98 6,584 24 Madrid, Spain 66.47 45.00 46.40 1,034 83.80 6,570 25 Shanghai (Pudong), China 65.22 44.15 45.52 1,014 82.22 6,446 26 Rome, Italy 64.93 43.96 45.32 1,010 81.86 6,418 27 Manchester, England 63.75 43.15 44.49 991 80.36 6,301 28 Birmingham, England 63.03 42.67 43.99 980 79.46 6,230 29 Leeds, England 60.88 41.21 42.50 947 76.75 6,018 30 Perth, Australia 59.15 40.04 41.29 920 74.57 5,847 31 Glasgow, Scotland 58.73 39.76 41.00 914 74.04 5,805 32 Stockholm, Sweden 58.59 39.66 40.90 911 73.87 5,791 33 Sao Paulo, Brazil 57.74 39.09 40.30 898 72.79 5,707 34 Bristol, England 57.30 38.79 40.00 891 72.24 5,664 35 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 57.26 38.76 39.97 891 72.19 5,660 36 Shanghai (Puxi), China 57.01 38.59 39.79 887 71.88 5,635 37 Munich, Germany 56.00 37.91 39.09 871 70.60 5,535 38 Oslo, Norway 54.75 37.07 38.22 852 69.03 5,412 39 Calgary, Canada (CBD) 54.57 36.94 38.09 849 68.80 5,394 40 Seoul, South Korea 54.18 36.68 37.82 843 68.30 5,355 41 Warsaw, Poland 54.16 36.67 37.81 842 68.28 5,354 42 Prague, Czech Republic 53.23 36.03 37.15 828 67.10 5,261 43 Aberdeen, Scotland 53.00 35.88 37.00 824 66.82 5,239 44 New York Downtown, U.S. 52.92 35.82 36.94 823 66.72 5,231 45 Los Angeles (sub), U.S. 52.83 35.76 36.88 822 66.60 5,222 46 Toronto, Canada (CBD) 51.82 35.08 36.17 806 65.33 5,122 47 Washington, DC (CBD), U.S. 51.77 35.05 36.14 805 65.27 5,117 48 Athens, Greece 51.62 34.95 36.03 803 65.08 5,102 49 Brussels, Belgium 50.43 34.14 35.20 784 63.58 4,985 50 Beijing, China 49.44 33.47 34.51 769 62.32 4,886
SOURCE: CB Richard Ellis Research
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. Robert McGrath, 212.984.8267 robert.mcgrath@cbre.com

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