Sydney remains Australia's most expensive office market, but Perth catching up: CBRE
Sydney remains Australia’s most expensive city for office occupancy, but a significant value shift towards the Perth market has decreased the gap between the two cities, according to a survey by CBRE Global Research and Consulting.
The semi-annual prime office occupancy costs survey ranks 127 cities throughout the world according to the cost of office occupancy, including rent plus local taxes and service charges.
Hong Kong was ranked the most expensive at US$235.23 per square foot, per annum, followed by London and Beijing.
As for Australian cities, Sydney ranked 13th in the world at US$119.23 per square foot, per annum (just behind 10th placed Manhattan), followed by Perth, in 21st place, at US$97.09, Brisbane in 29th at US$79.10, and Melbourne in 49th at US$61.89.The cheapest Australian capital cities for office occupancy were Adelaide, in 71st place and Canberra, in 93rd place.
Source: CBRE
Sydney also topped the list for the most expensive market for office space in the Pacific Region.
Perth was ranked 16th in the list of cities that experienced the highest growth in the cost of office occupancy.
CBRE’s head of research for Australia, Stephen McNabb says this shows a “value shift” to the Perth market.
“The increase in terms of trade driven by high commodity prices has boosted income in the WA market relative to other Australian states.
“This has supported capacity to pay higher rents in Perth,” he says.
The survey shows the office occupancy rates for prime office spots in 127 cities worldwide, as of March 31, 2013.
