Global prime office costs jump significantly in 2025

According to Savills' 2025 Prime Office Costs report, the expense of securing top-tier office spaces globally increased by 5.1% throughout 2025, with a 1.1% rise in the final quarter. 

Quarterly change prime offices - Savills

London's West End, Hong Kong, and Midtown New York remained the most expensive locations.
Out of 40 major cities, 23 experienced an average 1.1% increase in "all-in" occupier costs (rent plus fit-out) between Q3 and Q4 2025. 
Globally, prime office leasing activity grew by 1.7% in the second half of 2025. Half of these deals were for expansion, 44% for maintaining current space, and only 6% involved reducing space. The finance sector was the most active in 2025, followed by the technology, advertising, media, and information (TAMI) sector, with a 7% increase in deal volumes in H2 2025, largely fuelled by the AI industry.
In Europe and the Middle East, prime office net costs rose by an average of 1% in Q4. London's West End saw a 4.2% increase driven by strong demand and limited new developments. Dubai's prime office costs rose by 1.7%, though Savills noted that short-term leases for Grade B spaces were significantly more expensive (up to 77%) than long-term prime leases, as landlords capitalized on temporary low availability before new supply became available.
Rick Schuham, CEO of Global Occupier Services at Savills, commented: “International demand from a broad array of occupiers for best-in-class offices, combined with limited changes to landlord incentives, reinforced premium pricing in major markets in the latter months of 2025. We anticipate that 2026 will be another year of increasing occupier costs in premium locations, due to continued demand across several major sectors and an ongoing lack of development in most markets.”
Sarah Brooks, associate director in Savills World Research, added: “The vast majority of occupiers taking prime office space in the second half of 2025 were expanding or maintaining their footprints, suggesting confidence in the role of the office in their future workplace strategies. Financial services and TAMI industries were the most active occupiers in the prime segment of the market by a wide margin in the latter half of last year, although the pace of their expansion could suggest some possible volatility over the medium-term. Fortunately, other traditional sectors, such as professional services and legal, have continued to be active, albeit at a relatively lower level across most markets, thereby providing a more stable base of demand.”