QUEBEC CITY AMONG THE MOST AFFORDABLE IN THE WORLD
Asia is the most expensive

by Daniel Allard

 
Canadian cities are among the most affordable in the world. The Cushman & Wakefield annual survey on occupation costs, prepared in cooperation with Royal LePage, reviews more than 40 North American cities. If Québec figured in the survey, it would be the best of its class.

Even though it is not considered as one of the world's great economic centers, the region of Québec is nevertheless among the most affordable which makes it attractive for business.

The Greater Québec area ranks first for occupation costs among the 43 cities surveyed, coming in ahead of Calgary, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver as well as Houston, which is the least expensive town according to the survey.

The occupation cost includes altogether the total basic rent, municipal taxes and operating costs. According to the survey, Houston is the cheapest with 14.85$US per square foot followed by Calgary (16.70$US) and Montréal (16.90$US). Vancouver is tenth with 24.66$US.

Using the same criteria for the Québec region, Emile Larochelle, of the Québec-based appraisal firm Racine, Larochelle & Associés, concludes that occupation costs for Class A offices totalled 16.61$ CAN (11.86$US) on January 1, 1997. Moreover, for Class B offices, the price per square foot at 13.44$CAN is even below 10$US (9.60$US).

Being 3$US cheaper than Houston, the most affordable town according to the Cushman & Wakefield survey, Québec City may rightly be considered one of the world's least expensive business centers.


 Occupation Costs, 1997 ($US)

(the most expensive)

Rank City

 $/pi2
 1  Bombay  143,30
 2  Hong Kong  106,60
 3  Londres-ouest  97,32
 4  Londres-ville  94,87
 5  Tokyo  94,79

(the least expensive)

 Rank  City

$/pi2 
 34  Vancouver  24,66
 37  Toronto  19,20
 39  Atlanta  18,36
 40  Dallas  17,52
 41  Montréal  16,90
 42  Calgary  16,70
 43  Houston  14,85
 ---  Québec, classe A  11,86
 ---  Québec, classe B  9,60

(Source: Royal LePage commercial et Racine, Larochelle& Ass.)

 

The attitudes and intentions of 250 senior managers of large multinational firms have been surveyed. It was observed that identifying important trade factors was deemed essential for investment purposes. In this regard, Shanghai is viewed as the most popular business center.