London, by Far, Remains Home To World's Costliest Office Space
London's office space is by far the most expensive in the world, more than twice as costly as space in the toniest districts of Tokyo or New York, according to a new survey. Paris is the second-most expensive, and Hong Kong returned to the top five after rents more than doubled there in 2004.
The annual survey, by Cushman & Wakefield Inc., a New York commercial-real-estate-services firm, measured total occupancy costs for the 202 most-expensive districts in 47 countries. Rents account for most of total occupancy costs, but taxes and utilities also make up a significant part of a company's expense for office space.
Costs are rising in many major markets, the survey said, reflecting the synchronized global economic rebound that strengthened last year. Occupancy costs were up or flat in two-thirds of the markets in the survey last year, compared with half of the markets in 2003.
Office space in the Mayfair district in London's West End costs an average $199 per square foot per year, up about 20% from $165 a foot in 2003. The West End historically has led the world in occupancy costs, due to height restrictions, limited room for expanding in the district's outskirts, and taxes that can be 40% of annual rents, said James Charnaud , director of client services for Cushman & Wakefield.
Occupying space in Paris's central business district costs $120 a square foot, up 13% from $106 the previous year. Tokyo's Centre district was third-most expensive, with occupancy costing $92 a square foot, about what it cost in 2003. New York's Midtown was fourth at $86 a square foot, up a bit from the prior year's $85 a foot.
Hong Kong's Central District soared to No. 5 last year from No. 17 in 2003, with occupancy costs surging to $81 a square foot from $47 the previous year as rents more than doubled. Hong Kong historically is a volatile office market, and rents are still 42% lower than the high reached in 1997. "The driver behind [the rapid increase is that] the financial institutions were particularly active in the Hong Kong market," said Bruce Mosler, president and chief executive of Cushman & Wakefield.
Expansions by financial institutions, many of which notched record profits for 2004, led much of the activity across the world last year. "In the U.S., the legal-services industry has led absorption," Mr. Mosler said. "But this year, in the Northeast and particularly in New York, the financial institutions led the legal industry, and that was the first time in several years."
For 2005, Cushman & Wakefield forecasts costs to continue to rise in the top office districts around the world because of continuing demand and a shortage of top-quality space in prime areas.
伦敦办公楼租金全球最贵
据一项最新调查显示，目前伦敦办公楼租金仍是全世界最贵的，几乎是东京或纽约中心商业区办公楼租金的两倍多。巴黎位列第二，香港办公楼租金2004年涨幅超过一倍，重新回到前五名的位置。
这份年度调查报告由纽约商业房地产服务公司高纬物业(Cushman & Wakefield Inc.)编写，它比较了47个国家和地区202个最昂贵的商业区的办公楼租用成本。租用成本中绝大部分为租金，另外税金和水电费等也占重要的比重。
调查显示，许多主要国家和地区的租用成本有所提高，表明全球经济复苏的步伐在去年加快。在接受调查的国家和地区中，去年办公楼租用成本为持平或上升的市场占2/3，而2003年这一比例只有1/2。
伦敦西区梅费尔(Mayfair)地区的办公楼租用成本平均为每年每平米英尺199美元，较2003年的165美元上涨了20%。高纬物业客户服务主管James Charnaud称，伦敦西区租用成本历来位居世界前列，原因是这一地区建筑物受到高度的限制，而向外扩展的空间有限，并且税金也占到了年租金的40%。
巴黎中心商业区的办公楼租用成本为每平方英尺120美元，较2003年106美元上涨了13%。东京中心商业区租用成本位列第三位，为每平方英尺92美元，与2003年基本持平。排在第四位的是纽约中心商业区，租用成本为每平方英尺86美元，较2003年的85美元略有提高。
香港中心商业区的排名从2003年的第17位跃升至第5位，租用成本从2003年的每平方英尺47美元上涨至81美元，租金价格也上涨逾一倍。香港办公楼租用市场向来波动剧烈，目前的租金水平仍较1997年的高点低42%。高纬物业总裁兼首席执行长Bruce Mosler说，香港办公楼租金快速上扬是受到金融机构在香港表现异常活跃的推动。
许多金融机构2004年的利润都达到了创纪录的水平，它们的扩张在去年带动了不少地区的办公楼租用市场。“在美国，法律服务行业一直是办公楼租用市场的主要租户，”Mosler说，“但是今年在东北部地区，特别是纽约，金融机构租户数量超过了法律服务公司，这是几年来的第一次。”
高纬物业预计，2005年世界主要商业区的办公楼租金还将继续上扬，原因是主要地区的高质量办公楼依然供不应求。
