Since July 2014, skyscraper prime office rents in New York have risen by 20% to $150.00 per sq ft, outperforming the leading Asian skyscraper area, Hong Kong, according to Knight Frank. Hong Kong, however, continues to have the world's highest skyscraper office rents, at $250.50 per square foot.
The figures come from Knight Frank and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's latest Skyscraper Index, which rates the world's cities as high-rise office and residential hubs.
As skyscraper construction has increased in New York, rental prices have risen, with towers proving common workplaces for the city's expanding digital and creative firms, as well as financial and technical firms. house and lot for sale
Hong Kong's large lead in rents, on the other hand, is due to a low vacancy rate and a restricted CBD sector.
"A high quality office environment is an important part of building a company," said William Beardmore-Gray, head of global leasing services at Knight Frank. With the economy improving, businesses want offices that are both inspiring and show they value their workers."
"Today, the cost of renting an office workstation is typically less than the cost of hiring a head hunter to replace a departing employee. As a result, businesses want to use their offices to make employees feel respected and valuable. That's what you get when you put staff in the building that serves as the backdrop for the evening news' stock market update."
"We are now seeing the western cities eroding the lead of major Asian centers in tower office rentals," said James Roberts, chief economist at Knight Frank. In Hong Kong, rents for luxury floors with views are growing, but they are increasing much faster in New York. Similarly, London is catching up with Tokyo."
"Growth prospects for this year favor cities like New York and London, so I expect these cities to increase competition on Asian centers this year." Many people believe that the global economic balance is changing from west to east, but skyscraper rents are another indication that this isn't entirely true."
In 2016, Chinese overseas real estate investment reached a new high of $33 billion.
The hotel and industrial sectors saw the most investment growth.
According to the latest JLL Global Capital Flows data, China invested a record $33 billion in overseas commercial and residential property in 2016, up nearly 53% from the previous year.
Though property, offices, and hotels accounted for 90% of all Chinese outbound capital in the last three years, the hotel and industrial sectors saw the most growth in 2016, thanks to substantial portfolio sales in the United States and Chinese interest in industrial parks.
"The acquisition of Strategic Hotels and Resorts by Anbang Insurance for over $6 billion boosted hotel operation last year," says David Green-Morgan, JLL's Global Capital Markets Research Director. "With portfolio investments from Starwood Capital Group and an office tower in Manhattan, China Life Insurance has secured funds across the hotel and office sectors; sovereign wealth fund Chinese Investment Corporation has also been involved in the office sector in New York."
Land purchases by Chinese investors resurfaced last year, with a 44 percent increase following major transactions in Hong Kong, Australia, and Malaysia.
"We expect that Chinese investors will continue to be big capital movers in global real estate for many years," Green-Morgan says. "However, given the recent debate about China's capital outflows, a comparable rise in 2017 may be difficult."
Aside from overseas investments, Chinese investors have increased their domestic investments. In 2016, they accounted for over 86 percent of all transactions in China, up from around 75 percent in recent years.
According to Johnny Shao, JLL's Head of Capital Markets for Shanghai and East China, tier 1 cities were the most appealing to these investors.
"Shanghai's total transaction volume hit $14 billion, accounting for 48% of China's total investment volume. Beijing came in second, accounting for 16% of overall transaction volume in 2016, and Shenzhen came in third, accounting for 10% of the total," Mr Shao says.