Bengaluru's Whitefield least expensive tech hub globally

London's Shoreditch, San Francisco's Mid-Market most expensive office markets, says Knight Frank report

Among 29 global tech hubs, Bengaluru’s Whitefield offered the lowest office rents for occupants, said a new study. Whitefield has a rent of $9.65 or Rs 633.52 per square feet.

London’s Shoreditch, which has a rent of $90.75 or Rs 5,957 per sq ft, and Mid-Market of San Francisco in the US, having a rent of $77 per sq ft, are the most expensive office markets in the world, Knight Frank said in its Global Cities Report.

Gurugram in the National Capital Region came at the 25th position with a rent of $20.40 or Rs 1,339 per sq ft. It beat Madrid’s Julian Camarillo Area ($13.65) and Kuala Lumpur’s Cyberjaya Office Market ($11.55) in office rents.

Bengaluru topped the prime office yields index table with 10 per cent yields, followed by Delhi (9.20 per cent) and Mumbai (8.50 per cent). 

Hong Kong offered the least yield at 2.7 per cent.

Mumbai was ranked sixth on the Knight Frank’s Skyscraper Index growth in six months to Q2 2017.

Prime office rents in the upper floors of high-rises in Mumbai saw 1.8 per cent growth among the top six international rent appreciating markets, the report said.

Mumbai pipped iconic global destinations such as London, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Dubai.

The ‘What $100 million could buy?’ index said it could buy more than half a million sq ft of prime office space in Bengaluru, the highest in the world.

Delhi emerged as the most expensive office market in India on the ‘What $100 million could buy?’ index, followed by Mumbai. Hong Kong emerged as the most expensive in the world with 11,698-sq ft space.

Viral Desai, national director, occupier solutions group, Knight Frank India, said: “India’s office market witnessed a stellar run in 2016 as compared to the recent past. It is also a fairly accepted fact that India is home to some of the most affordable central business districts in the world. The findings of the Global Cities: The 2018 Report reinstates the fact. Bengaluru’s Whitefield is a case in point. Despite the influence of global headwinds on mainstream occupiers, emerging trends such as co-working space providers have continued to whip up demand in the supply-deprived market.”