Singapore plunges from #9 to #32 in global office rental price list
By Mok Fei Fei, 938 LIVE | Posted: 01 December 2009 1507 hrs

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SINGAPORE: Office rentals in Singapore have plunged dramatically, causing it to fall to the 32nd spot in a list of the world's most expensive office market.

Previously, Singapore took 9th spot on the list in the year-ago period and was in 15th place just six months ago.

Property consultant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) said on Tuesday that Singapore saw a 53.4 per cent on-year decline in rents.

Singapore's office occupancy cost now stands at US$63.89 per square foot per annum. A year ago, the rent here stood at US$135.13 per square foot per annum. Singapore saw the second steepest on-year drop in rentals - behind only Kiev, which fell by 64.4 per cent.

London's West End is again the world's most expensive office market, with rents at US$184.85 per square foot per annum.

Tokyo's Inner Central district came in second, with Tokyo's Outer Central district in third spot.

Rounding up the top five are Hong Kong's central business district in fourth place and Moscow finishing fifth on the list.

CBRE said office markets worldwide are experiencing declines in prime office occupancy costs.

Overall, prime office occupancy costs saw an average on-year drop of 7.7 per cent worldwide.

The semi-annual Global Office Rents Survey by CBRE tracks office occupancy costs in nearly 180 cities around the globe.

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