Connaught Place 4th expensive market in Asia Pacific

Connaught Place in the national capital has emerged as the fourth most expensive office market in the Asia Pacific with an increase of modest 1.4 per cent in the rental, according to property consultant Knight Frank.

Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore are the top three most expensive office markets in Asia Pacific, while Mumbai's BKC (Bandra Kurla Complex) stood at seventh rank, Knight Frank said in a statement.

The consultant has released its Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index for Q1 2019 - that tracks prime office rental movement across key markets of Asia.

Average office rent at Connaught Place rose to Rs. 330 per sq ft a month in the first quarter of 2019 from Rs. 326 per sq ft in the year-ago period.

Bengaluru's Central Business District (CBD) saw an increase of 17 per cent in office rent at Rs. 125 per sq ft per month from Rs. 107 a sq ft during the review period.

Monthly office rent at BKC in Mumbai rose to Rs. 300 per sq ft, up 5 per cent from Rs. 286 sq ft.

"The office space demand witnessed record growth in 2018 with over 47 million sq ft of leasing, while new office space supply rose by 13 per cent in the same period," said Shishir Baijal, Chairman and Managing Director, Knight Frank India.

"The prime office markets are already operating with very low vacancy which is slowing down new transactions. Strong demand trends have put upwards pressure on rentals, especially in prime markets, a trend that is expected to continue," he added.