Connaught Place world's seventh most expensive office market

Mumbai's BKC is at the 19th position and Nariman Point at 34th, according to CBRE Research's bi-annual survey

With occupancy cost of $149.71 (Rs 10,030) per sq ft, New Delhi’s Central Business District (CBD) of Connaught Place ranks as the seventh most expensive prime office market in the world, said a new study. Connaught Place was ranked sixth in the previous CBRE Research's Global Prime Office Occupancy Costs bi-annual survey.

Mumbai’s alternative business district of Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) came down from 18th to 19th position, according to the study while Nariman Point is at 34th position. Hong Kong (Central) ranked first at $290 per sq ft per annum.

Global prime office occupancy costs — which reflect rent, plus local taxes and service charges for the highest-quality, prime office properties — rose 2.4% year-on-year. In Asia Pacific, prime office occupancy costs are growing at a faster pace than average, up 2.7% year-over-year. A few key Southeast Asian markets registered decreases, including Singapore and Jakarta, CBRE said today.

Anshuman Magazine, chairman and amanging director at CBRE South Asia, said: “Over the past year, the commercial real estate market in India has witnessed positive movement. At rank seven, Connaught Place (CP) continues to attract occupiers and witnesses steady leasing activity for front office space.  Its central location and ease of connectivity continues to attract big corporates – especially banks, other financial institutions and engineering firms. Overall, India continues to be a preferred destination for various multinationals to expand their current operations or to set up their offices due to adequate supply of quality office space.”

Asia continued to dominate the list of the world’s most expensive office locations, accounting for seven of the top ten markets, according to the survey,  Beijing (Finance Street) at $188 per sq. ft.), Beijing (Central Business District (CBD) at $182 per sq. ft and Hong Kong (West Kowloon at S$179 per sq. ft rounded out the top five positions. Apart from New Delhi (Connaught Place - CBD), Tokyo (Marunouchi/Otemachi), and Shanghai (Pudong) also featured in the top ten list.