Dueling Surveys Rank Office Rents

NEW YORK CITY-CB Richard Ellis and Cushman & Wakefield released separate reports on the status of office rents worldwide. According to CBRE’s Global Market Rents report, which ranks office rental rates in 158 cities, while Midtown is the nation’s most expensive office locale in the US at $52.53 per sf, London’s West End comes in at the top a $191.60 per sf. Taking second place is Washington, DC at $43.24, followed by Boston at $38.98 and Lower Manhattan at $37.80.

C&W’s Business Space Across the World, which ranks the most expensive locations for occupying office space in 47 countries, found that Midtown Manhattan office space is a bargain when compared to its international competitors. It is only the fourth most expensive city in the world, behind London, Paris and Tokyo.

CBRE reports that the weakness of the US dollar during the second half of 2004 has had a significant impact on the CBRE Global Top 50. And Cushman found that at year end 2004, office rents increased or were stable in local currency terms in two-thirds of the 210 locations monitored, compared with 2003′s 50%.