Rents in London’s skyscrapers remain at record levels despite uncertainty caused by the EU Referendum, according to the latest Skyscraper Index from Knight Frank.
The report, which examines the rental performance of commercial buildings over 30 storeys across the world, shows that rents in London’s skyscrapers remained at a record US$114.00 per sq ft in the first half of 2016.
Rents in London’s skyscrapers are among the highest in the world, behind Hong Kong [US$278.50], New York [US$158.00] and Tokyo [US$149.50]. San Francisco completes the top five of the Index, where skyscraper rents reached US$113.00 at the end of the second quarter.
Will Beardmore-Gray, Head of Consultancy & Occupiers, Knight Frank said: “We have seen strong rental growth in London’s skyscrapers over the past two years, and rents remain resilient in spite of the economic uncertainty arising from the European Referendum result. Demand for space in London’s skyscrapers is undiminished with a number of deals done already in the second half of the year at very good levels.”
Knight Frank’s analysis shows uneven growth in skyscraper rents across global cities. Rents for Shanghai skyscraper offices grew the fastest of the cities surveyed, at 7.6% in the six months to June 2016, with Sydney in second place at 6.5%, and Hong Kong third with growth of 5.9%. Of the top five cities ranked by rental growth, four are in the Asia-Pacific region.
Singapore was the only global city where skyscraper rents decreased for the period, with the 7% drop attributed to over-supply in the market.
Knight Frank’s Skyscraper Index forms part of the 2017 Global Cities Report.
