Delhi's Connaught Place is world's 5th most costliest office market

Delhi's Connaught Place has ranked fifth in the list of most expensive prime office markets in the world, owing to rupee depreciation.

According to a survey by property consultant CBRE, at nearly $157 per sqft per annum, Delhi's central business district (CBD) of CP has gained the fifth spot in the list of most expensive prime office markets in the world.

Mumbai's alternative business district of Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), however stood at the 15th position, while Nariman Point was ranked 30th on the top 50 rankings for global prime office properties.

"Although Connaught Place moved up one spot in the rankings, due to the rupee depreciation, occupancy costs in this market remained largely stable due to a positive market sentiment," CBRE South Asia Chairman and Managing Director Anshuman Magazine said.

The office occupancy costs in Bengaluru rose by about 2.2 percent in the Bengaluru CBD, broadly in line with global inflation, he said.

According to the survey, London's West End remained the world's costliest prime office market, while Asia continued to dominate the most expensive office locations, accounting for four of the top five markets.

London West End's overall prime occupancy costs of $267 per sqft topped the 'most expensive' list, while Hong Kong's total prime occupancy costs stood at $254 per sqft, followed by Beijing's Finance Street at $196 per sqft, Beijing CBD ($188 per sqft) and New Delhi's CBD of Connaught Place at $157 per sqft rounded out the top five.

"Occupancy cost trends were mixed, with regional surveys showing stronger hiring intentions among employers in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, the Philippines and Japan while corporate hiring activity remained muted in other locations. India and the Philippines continued to benefit from growing IT back office services looking for operational and costs efficiency," Magazine said.

The study also found that the real estate recovery in Ireland remained on track, with Dublin (26.1 percent) and Belfast (13.3 percent) showing the largest and fourth-largest year-on-year prime occupancy cost increase, respectively, among the 127 cities surveyed.

The change in prime office occupancy costs mirrored the gradual recovery of the global economy, he said.

According to the survey, global prime office occupancy costs rose 2 per cent year-over-year, with the Americas up 2.9 per cent, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) rising 1.5 per cent and Asia Pacific up 1.4 per cent.

"Occupier caution has declined and corporate confidence has been on the rise and this confidence is starting to translate into a degree of expansionary momentum," CBRE Global Chief Economist Richard Barkham said.