NEW DELHI, June 20 — Connaught Place in Delhi has slipped one notch to become the world’s eighth costliest office destination, property consultant CBRE said Thursday.
Mumbai’s BandraKurla Complex (BKC) was ranked 16th and Nariman Point 32nd in the list of Top 50 Costliest Global Office Markets, Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.
Delhi’s Connaught Place was ranked seventh while Mumbai’s BKC and Nariman Point were at 15th and 32nd positions respectively in the previous list released last December.
“London’s West End remained the world’s highest-priced office market followed by Hong Kong (Central) and Beijing (Finance Street),” CBRE said in a statement.
According to CBRE’s semi-annual Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs survey, London West End’s topped the list with overall occupancy costs of US$277 per square feet a year.
“At more than US$150 per sq. ft. per annum, Delhi’s traditional central business district (CBD) of Connaught Place was ranked as the eighth most expensive office market in the world,” CBRE said.
CBRE South Asia chairman and managing director Anshuman Magazine said: “This downward change in rankings in the CBD is due to a recovering global market.
“However, locally the demand levels remain stable and due to lack of new supply values remain high,” he said.
CBRE tracks occupancy costs for prime office space in 126 markets around the globe. The survey provided data on office rents and occupancy costs as of March 31 this year.
Despite a drop in rankings by one spot over the previous survey, CBRE noted that Connaught Place remains highly sought after by corporate office occupiers thanks to its central location and connectivity to the rest of the city.
During the January-March quarter, rental remained high due to limited supply of prime space. The occupancy cost of CP rose by 1.2 percent year-on-year and vacancy rates dropped marginally amid strong leasing activities.
“Global prime office occupancy costs rose 2.3 percent year-over-year led by the Americas (up 3.3 percent) and Asia Pacific (up 2.9 percent),” CBRE said.
Of the top 50 most expensive markets, 21 were in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), 20 in Asia Pacific and nine in the Americas.
Total occupancy cost of Hong Kong (Central) ranked second in the list and stood at US$242 per sq. ft. followed by Beijing’s Finance Street at US$194 per sq. ft., Beijing’s CBD at US$187 per sq. ft. and Moscow at US$165 per sq. ft.
–BERNAMA
