Prime office spaces in Africa’s major cities continue to attract strong demand from organizations, corporations, and investors, offering modern infrastructure, flexible layouts, and amenities that support productivity, collaboration, and hybrid work.
These high-grade offices, often located in central business districts and prestigious commercial hubs, consistently outperform secondary stock in occupancy, rents, and tenant preference.
Across the continent, Grade A and ESG-compliant offices are driving a widening gap between prime and secondary markets.
In several key CBDs, occupancy rates for high-quality offices have surpassed 90%, reflecting a pronounced flight-to-quality trend as tenants prioritize efficiency, technology, and sustainability.
Hybrid work models are driving demand for smaller, flexible, and adaptable office layouts.
While this supports productivity and talent access, uneven digital infrastructure and varying cultural readiness remain challenges. Landlords are responding with agile leases, fit-out allowances, and rent incentives to stay competitive.
This article ranks the top 10 most expensive African cities for prime office space in H1 2025, presenting average rents per square meter, comparisons with H1 2024, and insights into emerging market dynamics.
The data is drawn from Knight Frank’s The Africa Offices Market Dashboard for H1 2025, which tracks rental performance and office market trends across Africa.
Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, tied with Gaborone as the eighth most expensive city for prime office space in Africa in the first half of 2025. The market showed dual demand: multinational tenants drove a flight to quality, while local occupiers sought cost-efficient options.
Grade A offices, particularly green-certified and ESG-aligned buildings with advanced infrastructure, remained in strong demand. Grade B offices maintained resilient performance due to affordability, appealing to domestic firms.
The market continued to face an oversupply of lower-grade stock, with around 15,000 sqm of new space expected by the end of 2025. Prime office rents held steady at $13 per sqm, unchanged from H1 2024, reflecting supply pressures and measured absorption by tenants.
