The fourth most expensive area was in the Americas, specifically Fairfield County with an average $17,414 per workstation. It was followed by San Francisco at $16,205 and then New York at $15,931.

Along with rising occupancy costs, workplace density — the number of workers within a given space — has also increased at a global level in 2017. Employers, especially in such cities as New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, want to be as efficient as possible with their space use as occupancy costs rise.

As companies seek to maximize their space there is always the danger of going too far with this strategy, says report author Sophy Moffat, Research & Insight EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield. “There's a tipping point when density is too high, or the amount of collaborative space is too low,” she says in a prepared statement.

Another emerging trend, perhaps in response to these rising costs, is the growing competitiveness of secondary cities — a feat made possible only by the digital age, Moffat says.

“In the longer term, there will also be some rebalancing of occupancy costs across the world as talent and business orientates towards emerging economies.”

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HONG KONG, CHINA–Globally, the average annual cost per workstation rose by 1.5% over the last 12 months — an increase driven in part by the Americas, which saw a 4.2% uptick in costs. But the most expensive office market in the world can be found in Hong Kong, according to Cushman & Wakefield's annual Office Space Across the World report. The city has replaced London's West End as the highest-cost office market in which to accommodate staff, the report said.

C&W used proprietary data to rank the occupancy costs per workstation and workplace densities for office space around the world. The report surveys occupancy costs across 215 office markets in 58 countries or regions.

It found Hong Kong to be the most expensive due to limited availability and strong demand from mainland Chinese corporations; costs rose 5.5% to $27,432. To illustrate the city's relative costs, C&W noted that for the same cost of accommodating 100 staff in a Hong Kong office, 300 can be accommodated in Toronto, 500 in Madrid, and 900 in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, costs in London have fallen 19% since 2016, largely as a result of currency depreciation, to an average of $22,665 per workstation per year. Tokyo maintained its ranking as the third most expensive location globally.

The fourth most expensive area was in the Americas, specifically Fairfield County with an average $17,414 per workstation. It was followed by San Francisco at $16,205 and then New York at $15,931.

Along with rising occupancy costs, workplace density — the number of workers within a given space — has also increased at a global level in 2017. Employers, especially in such cities as New York, London, Tokyo and Hong Kong, want to be as efficient as possible with their space use as occupancy costs rise.

As companies seek to maximize their space there is always the danger of going too far with this strategy, says report author Sophy Moffat, Research & Insight EMEA, Cushman & Wakefield. “There's a tipping point when density is too high, or the amount of collaborative space is too low,” she says in a prepared statement.

Another emerging trend, perhaps in response to these rising costs, is the growing competitiveness of secondary cities — a feat made possible only by the digital age, Moffat says.

“In the longer term, there will also be some rebalancing of occupancy costs across the world as talent and business orientates towards emerging economies.”

Save

Save