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.
Johannesburg, a major economic hub in South Africa, shared the sixth spot among Africa’s most expensive cities for prime office space in the first half of 2025. The market continued to show a clear flight to quality, with P-grade office vacancies falling to 7.8% while C-grade vacancies rose by nearly 10%, highlighting challenges in older stock. Tenant demand focused on premium buildings with reliable infrastructure, including generator backup systems.
Construction activity remained at historic lows. Prime rents held steady at $15 per sqm, unchanged from H1 2024, but tightening vacancies and limited supply may push rents higher over time.
