Bucharest, Europe�s fifth cheapest office market

32. London West End, the most expensive office market

Jones Lang LaSalle examines the performance of 32 office markets across Europe, and takes into account prime units in central areas with over 500sqm of lettable floorspace.

West End district in London has kept in third quarter its leading position as the most expensive prime office market in Europe, headline rents remaining at Q2 levels, but fell 30.2% from year-ago period. In this area, for a prime unit, a company pays €883/sqm/annum.

London West End is followed by Paris, where a tenant pays €700/sqm/annum, same as in second quarter this year, but 15.7% less than a year-ago period.

The London City, the area represented by the historic core of London, office rents are slightly lower, hovering near €530/sqm/annum, same as in previous quarter. Compared to third quarter in 2008, rents in the City of London fell 25%.

5. Bucharest rents equal to those in Prague

Office rents for prime units in Bucharest are at the same level as those in Budapest or Prague, namely €252/sqm/annum. However, the decline rate has been slower in Budapest, where office rents fell only by 2.3% in third quarter versus second quarter and by 4.5% versus year-ago period.

In Bucharest, prime office rents in central areas dropped 4.5% in Q3 compared to second quarter and by 16% versus the same period of last year, and now standing near €252/sqm/annum, €21/sqm/month respectively.

In Prague, same as in Bucharest, office rents for prime units decreased by 4.5% over the last three months, but when compared to third quarter, the decline is 6.7%, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.

1. Stuttgart, cheapest prime office market in Europe

In the German city, Stuttgart, located 1,200 km away from Romanian city Arad, has the lowest rents for office spaces in Europe. A tenant pays as little as €216/sqm/annum, same as a quarter earlier, but 2.9% more than the same period of last year.

The cheapest prime office market in Europe, Stuttgart, is also the sole European city where office rents increased year-over-year.

Headline rents remained at Q3 2008 levels in Amsterdam (355€/sqm/annum) and Dusseldorf (270€/sqm/annum). In all the remaining 29 office markets across Europe, rents followed a downward trend.

Top 10 cheapest prime office markets