Revealed: Top 10 Cities With The Highest Skyscraper Rents

Prime office rents in skyscrapers in Dubai have remained flat since the second half of 2014, and currently stand at $43.50 per sq ft, according to the latest Skyscraper Index released by Knight Frank.

The emirate was placed 16^th on the index, which ranks a total of 20 global cities with the most expensive high-rise prime office rentals.

Hong Kong again topped the list with rents standing at $250.50 per sq ft, up 11.3 per cent since H2 2014. However, Kuala Lumpur (ranked 17) and New York (ranked two) saw the steepest growth at 20.9 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

Khawar Khan, research manager, Knight Frank Dubai, said: “We are now seeing the western cities erode the lead of big Asian centres in tower office rents. For premium floors with views, rents are rising in Hong Kong, but they are increasing much faster in New York. Similarly London is closing the gap on Tokyo.

“Many people like to say that the balance in the global economy is shifting from west to east, but certainly skyscraper rents provide another indicator that shows this is not entirely the case,” he added.

The report also found that in 2009, there were 19 skyscrapers in the world with heights of over 1,000 feet, whereas currently, that number has risen to 79, including 40 per cent in China and 28 per cent in the UAE.

Dubai, which has built nearly 190 skyscrapers since 2000, currently houses the world’s tallest tower, the Burj Khalifa, which soars 828 meters high.

William Neill, partner, Commercial Leasing at Knight Frank Dubai said: “A high quality office environment is an essential part of building a business. With the economy improving, firms want offices that provide an inspiring place to work and demonstrate they value their employees.

“Companies want to use their offices as a way to make staff feel they are valued and important. You achieve that when you put workers in the building that appears as the backdrop during the stock market report on the evening news.”

TOP 10 MOST EXPENSIVE CITIES FOR SKYSCRAPER OFFICE RENTS

Skyscraper Prime Office Rents
	City	Prime Rent      (sq ft/yr)	Growth       (since H2 2014)
1	Hong Kong	$250.50	11.3%
2	New York	$150.00	20.0%
3	Tokyo	$124.00	4.8%
4	London	$108.75	7.7%
5	San Francisco	$97.00	2.1%
6	Singapore	$94.25	6.1%
7	Sydney	$91.75	0.8%
8	Moscow	$90.00	-3.0%
9	Los Angeles	$73.00	10.6%
10	Shanghai	$68.75	2.9%