Report: Europe, Asia Dominate Office Markets

As far as fast-growing markets, Ho Chi Minh City had the most impressive occupancy cost growth numbers, up 94% to $85.84 per sf, and was followed by Moscow close behind at 93% to $232.37 per sf, and Singapore at 86%. Nicosia, Cyprus and Oslo, Norway rounded out the top five in this category.

"Office occupancy costs are continuing to defy sluggish economic conditions and the credit crunch, as they rise faster than global inflation," said Raymond Torto, CBRE's global chief economist, in a statement about the report. "These cost increases are dominated by emerging markets, caused by both supply and demand imbalance and the depreciation of the dollar relative to local currencies. In some of these emerging markets, class A office space is seriously lacking."

No US city made it to the top 10 of either most expensive markets or the fastest growing. The cities of London, New Delhi, India, Paris, Singapore and Dubai finished out the top 10 for most expensive, in order, and Tel Aviv, Dubai, Mumbai, Manila and Perth, Australia rounded out the top 10 for fastest growing occupancy costs.

Midtown New York City was ranked at number 13 for most expensive, at $103 per sf, with only Los Angeles being the other US city to be in the top 50 of this list, at number 48. Suburban Miami ranked as the fastest-growing occupancy-cost US city, ranking at number 14, up almost 30% this past year. New York City Midtown was at number 21 on this list, with a 22.7% increase, followed by San Francisco (number 25), Los Angeles (26), Miami CBD (28), Los Angeles (30), Seattle (32), New York City Downtown (44), Boston (46) and Albuquerque, NM (50).

The report is based on a hard data monitored, assembled and analyzed by more than 500 local researchers from CBRE, a company spokesman tells GlobeSt.com. "This semi-annual report provides a timely analysis of the level and direction of global office market rents and occupancy costs and is a valuable benchmarking tool for the industry," he says. The data is gathered from 173 cities worldwide.