Delhi, Mumbai among world's costliest office locations

NEW DELHI: The scorching pace of growth in the country's realty market has pushed Mumbai and New Delhi among the world's ten costliest locations for setting up an office, global realty consultant CBRE said in a new report.

"London's West End, Mumbai, the City of London and Moscow are the top four most expensive office markets in the world," CB Richard Ellis said in a statement.

Mumbai's Nariman Point at 189.51 dollar (occupation cost in US dollar/sq ft/annum) rose three places to second spot. London (West End) topped the list with 328.91 dollar.

"This is reflective, on the one hand of the great performance of the economy but on the other hand of acute shortage of prime office space in Mumbai," CBRE South Asia Chairman and Managing Director Anshuman Magazine said.
   
Such high cost of office space in the financial capital of an emerging country like India could be a deterrent for investments, he opined.

According to CBRE Research's semi-annual Global Market Rents survey which tracks the world's most expensive markets as well as markets with the fastest growing rents over the past 12 months, Delhi ranks eight in the most expensive office markets of the world.
   
In the category of fastest growing office rents, Mumbai ranks third with 55 per cent jump in last 12 months, while Bangalore is at sixth place with an increase of 49 per cent.
   
New Delhi is at 12th position with 34.3 per cent jump in office rental in last one year. Singapore led the list of markets with the fastest growing office rents with occupancy costs rising by 83 per cent during the past year.

"I would rather see Mumbai being the second most economically developed city providing the best infrastructure in the world instead of having the second highest rentals globally," Magazine said.

The consultant firm said that the report surveyed the office occupation costs in 171 cities worldwide. Delhi and Mumbai were the only two Indian cities among the 50 most expensive office markets. In the list of top 50 markets with fastest-growing rents, software hub Bangalore also found a place along with the two cities.
   
The CBRE report follows that of another global real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield, which had recently put Khan Market in New Delhi as the most expensive retail destination in the country with rentals of Rs 950 per sq ft per month in the second quarter. It witnessed an annual growth of 35.7 per cent over the same period last year.