London Dethrones Hong Kong

20 Feb 2013

Hong Kong has had the dubious distinction of being the repository of the most expensive office space in the world for as long as 5 years. So, when London has just now dethroned its former colony from the distinction, some people in the Special Administrative Region of China may have been happy but not the real estate billionaires who have been making the moolah like nobody else in the world.

The latest rental office position for Hong Kong is No.2, followed by Rio de Janeiro, Connaught Place in New Delhi, Tokyo Central Business District, Moscow Central Business District, Beijing Central Business District, New York Midtown and Madison, Sydney Central Business District and Paris Central Business District.

At US$262 per square foot, London’s occupancy cost includes taxes and charges for cleaning and other services, which are more than twice those of Paris, New York and Moscow.

While Hong Kong has dropped to the second place, the Zona Sul area of Rio de Janeiro forged its way into the top three of the world’s most expensive office locations, with rents increasing by 43 per cent over last year.

At the rate of current growth, Hong Kong is sure to regain its prime position not before long, because there is not much vacant space in the island state, and it can grow only vertically.