Hong Kong skyscrapers are the world’s most expensive at $8,000 (£6,200) per sq ft, research from Knight Frank’s first Active Capital report has found.
Prices in Hong Kong dwarfed Tokyo’s, which came in a distant second at $4,900 per sq ft at the end of 2016.
The top of the list was dominated with financial and technology centres, with Manhattan, San Francisco and the City of London all coming in the top five.
Knight Frank said it expects prices in Sydney, Taipei and Melbourne to climb rapidly in the next two years and for investors to start targeting trophy assets in those cities, away from the major financial centres.
In a sign of the state of the Hong Kong market, developer Henderson Land recently paid $3bn for a five-storey car park in what was a record lump sum for Hong Kong and a record per sq ft.
Andrew Sim, head of global capital markets at Knight Frank, said: “For the first time we have comparatively analysed the capital value of the world’s skyscrapers, which are seen by many as a bellweather for the commercial property market as a whole.
“Pricing is highest in Hong Kong, which reflects the world’s highest skyscraper rents, and the lack of available land for future development. Similarly, pricing in major financial centres such as Shanghai, Singapore, Manhattan and London is supported by the high level of demand for space in these buildings from financial services businesses in particular.”
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