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.
Dar es Salaam, the commercial capital of Tanzania, shared the sixth position among Africa’s most expensive cities for prime office space in the first half of 2025.
The Grade A office market showed moderate but stable demand, with overall occupancy reaching 75%, up from 70% in H2 2024. Landlord-led strategies such as flexible lease terms, rent concessions, and active negotiations helped retain tenants despite persistent oversupply.
Headline rents remained steady at $15 per sqm, unchanged from H1 2024. Demand concentrated in high-quality, well-located properties, while Grade B and older stock continued to face elevated vacancies.
Tenants increasingly sought smaller, flexible, and cost-efficient spaces in areas such as Mikocheni, Kinondoni, and select CBD nodes, driving interest in co-working models, serviced offices, and Grade A upgrades.
