Romania is one of the most expensive locations for office spaces worldwide, Cushman & Wakefield says

Romania ranks 35 among the most expensive locations for offices worldwide as rents reached 21 euros per square meter in downtown Bucharest last year, according to the "Office Space Across the World 2008" study made by the real estate company Cushman & Wakefield.

Rents in downtown Bucharest hiked 5 percent from 2006. In two other big cities, Brasov and Timisoara, rents reached 15 euros per square meter last year.

The demand for office spaces continues to exceed the offer and the non-occupancy rate in A class buildings is almost zero therefore rents are expected to hike this year too for A and B class office spaces, according to Cushman & Wakefield official, Florin Sorea.

The ten most expensive cities in terms of office rents posted 40 percent hikes in 2007. London remains by far the most expensive.

The "Office Space Across the World 2008" study compares costs with office spaces for 203 key locations from 58 countries. Of the 203 locations, 79 percent posted rent hikes over the past year, 20 percent have stable rents and only 1 percent posted drops. Overall, rent prices rose 14 percent globally in 2007 compared to 10 percent in 2006.

Cushman & Wakefield is the third largest real estate company worldwide with more than 12,500 employees who operate in 215 offices from 56 countries. The office in Romania was opened in 2007 by taking over Active Consult, its eleven-year partner.

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