By Ben Fractenberg
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MIDTOWN — Renting in Midtown is a steal — compared to Rio de Janeiro.
Rio knocked off New York City as the most expensive place to rent office space, said a study by real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield.
Rio saw a commercial rental price spike of more than 47 percent in 2010, reportedly making it the first South American country to hold the top spot over New York.
"The rise of rents in Rio de Janeiro’s office market results from very high demand and a lack of supply in the city," said Mariana Mokayad Hanania, manager of research services for Cushman & Wakefield South America. "The quality of the new stock being delivered is speeding up rental growth."
Rents in Midtown jumped 10 percent in 2010, even though the U.S. saw a drop of 2 percent in the rental market.
The city with the biggest jump last year was Hong Kong, which saw a 51 percent spike.
The rise was due to an increase of corporate expansion in the city and lack of office space according to Cushman & Wakefield.
Overall, New York came in as the fifth most expensive commercial rental market in the world, behind Rio, Hong Kong, London and Tokyo all ranked higher than the Big Apple.
