New York, San Francisco are the Priciest Flex Office Markets

New York and San Francisco are the most expensive flexible office markets globally, according to Workthere, Savills’ flexible office brokerage.

Private office desk spaces in New York cost an average of $961 per month, followed by San Francisco with a monthly price of $950. And office occupiers appear to be seeking quality assets above all else, according to Griffin Foley, Northeast Lead, Workthere Americas at Savills.  

“The flexible market is now dominated by high quality spaces because occupiers are focused on cultivating an updated office strategy around a space employees want to be in, and in an environment that enhances their desired culture,” he said.  “Similar to the Manhattan office market as a whole, there has been an undeniable flight to quality which has resulted in a shrunken set of options to choose from and ultimately higher asking rents.”

Globally, the popularity of the flex office model is growing quickly.  

“We contend that the demand for flexible solutions is not far away from surpassing the viable supply available and the ownership community needs to quickly evolve their own asset management strategies to deliver these options directly or in conjunction with a third-party operating partner,” Charlie Morris, Practice Leader, Flexible Office Solutions, Avison Young, told GlobeSt.com in an earlier interview.

Globally, London, one of just three European cities in the top ten, comes sixth in the ranking, at $803 per desk per month, followed by Berlin at $800.

“Due to the large number of flex spaces there is a variety of pricing models and quality, meaning the rate of that perceived recovery, when only pricing is taken into account, is slightly below expectations as some operators are willing to drop prices to increase occupancy levels,” said Savills’ Jack Williamson, head of Workthere UK.

Other international markets outside of the top ten were Amsterdam ($603) and Copenhagen ($596).