The 10 most expensive office markets in the Americas

Globally, office rental rates climbed three per cent over the last year, but remained largely flat across the Americas

New York is home to the most expensive office space in all of North and South America.

That distinction comes from a new survery from property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. According to the report, it costs an average of $127.09 USD to rent one square foot of office space in Manhattan’s Midtown district for one year. The average rent for New York’s central business district as a whole is $68.31 USD per square foot per year.

Globally, office rental rates climbed three per cent over the last year, but remained largely flat across the Americas. However, Cushman & Wakefield note that there was a “notable polarization” between rental rates in North and South America.

“Regional rental growth was fueled by increases in both the USA and Mexico, where prime rents moved up by 4 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively,” the reports reads. “Most South American locations, however, saw prime rents decline in 2013, with Colombia, and 2013’s frontrunner — Brazil, experiencing the largest year-over-year declines.”

While no Canadian city cracked the top 10, Vancouver and Calgary were found to be the two most expensive office markets in Canada, with yearly rates of $36.30 USD per square foot per year and $36.34, respectively. In Toronto, the average rent per square foot is $27.86 USD annually.

On the global scale, London is home to the world’s priciest office space. Indeed, it costs $182.18 USD per square foot per year to rent in the city’s West End. Hong Kong is the second most expensive office market on the planet with an average yearly rent of $160.01 per square foot in Hong Kong, Central.

To see the complete global and regional rankings, the full report can be downloaded as a PDF by clicking here.

Photo:  Paul Bica/Flickr