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A MONTHLY METER OF INDUSTRY TRENDS

THESE OFFICES WILL COST YOU A PRETTY PENNY

New York is a bargain for office rents when compared with its international competitors, according to a survey by Cushman & Wakefield. The city ranked fourth on the list. London, Paris and Tokyo grabbed the top three spots.

The World's Most Expensive Office Locations

2004 Rank 2003 Rank Location City Total Occupancy Costs (Dollars per sq. ft. per year*)
1 1 West End (Mayfair) London $164.70
2 3 CBD Paris $105.78
3 2 Centre Tokyo $91.33
4 4 Midtown New York City $84.82
5 6 Birger Jarlsgatan Stockholm $77.23
6 5 CBD Moscow $76.39
7 7 CBD Milan, Italy $72.29
8 8 CBD Zurich, Switzerland $62.65
9 9 Syntagma Square Athens, Greece $62.53
10 13 2/4 Districts Dublin, Ireland $60.96
*Rents are the top rents in each location, with each location being the most expensive in its country or region.
Source: Cushman & Wakefield


OFFICE AND INDUSTRIAL OWNERS FLOCK TO SALE-LEASEBACKS

Sale-leaseback activity in the office and industrial sectors has been robust over the past few years. Larger businesses, especially publicly traded companies, are pursuing sale-leasebacks to shore up their balance sheets and free up capital for operations.

Sale-Leaseback Transactions

(Millions of Sq. Ft.)
Office Industrial
2000 6.473 9.682
2001 3.756 9.525
2002 6.512 11.230
2003 6.912 12.564
Source: Grubb & Ellis


DEMAND PICKS UP IN THE INDUSTRIAL SECTOR

The amount of available sublease space in the industrial sector has declined from a peak of 114 million sq. ft. in early 2002 to 91 million sq. ft. at the end of 2003.

INVESTORS GROW HUNGRY FOR FAST-FOOD JOINTS

Sales are booming for fast-food chains. McDonald's for example, reported an increase of 10.9% in comparable sales between November 2002 and November 2003. The strong performance of the sector, particularly since 2000, has investors anxious to buy, according to Marcus & Millichap, and a limited availability of fast-food facilities is leading to high rates of appreciation.

THE CALL OF THE SUBURBS

Is suburban living becoming vogue again? The statistics seem to say “yes.” Between 1995 and 2000, more than half a million people moved from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan areas, similar to a trend previously seen in the late 1970s.

U.S. Net Migration

1975 to 1980 1985 to 1990 1995 to 2000
Metropolitan to Nonmetropolitan 6,168,149 60,204,388 6,166,532
Nonmetropolitan to Metropolitan 5,622,077 5,969,024 5,656,044
Net Migration to Nonmetropolitan Territory 996,072 51,414 510,488
Source: American Demographics from the U.S. Census Bureau

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