Why Office Space In Lagos Is More Expensive Than New York

Posted by ETFalpha ⋅ June 18, 2015 ⋅ Leave a comment

Filed Under Africa, EM, Emerging Markets, FM, Frontier Markets, Lagos, New York, NGE, Nigeria, Office Space, Quartz

When you think about the most expensive offices space in the world, cities like New York and London,with their reputations as global financial centers, spring to mind. However, when it comes to pricing, Lagos, the commercial capital of Africa’s largest economy has managed to find a comfortable spot among them.

Rentals for prime office space in Lagos (Ikoyi) is up to $90 per sq. ft per annum this year, above those seen in Midtown Manhattan in New York where rents are closer to $76 per sq. ft per annum, according to new data by CBRE, Broll and JLL, real estate firms. They are also trailing the $96 per sq. ft rents seen in the City of London and more than four times higher than prime office rents in Illovo, Johannesburg.

Lagos_has_some_of_the_world's_most_expensive_office_space__Q4_2014_Q1_2015_chartbuilder

For yield-seeking real estate investors, the Lagos opportunity might appear attractive at first glance. But the factors behind the numbers are worth digging into.