Offices today are at a crossroads. The modern global workforce demands an environment that supports productivity, flexibility and wellbeing.

The pandemic brought about a rapid and unprecedented change to workplace dynamics, forcing businesses to reassess the purpose of the office. Today hybrid working models are the norm. As a result, offices are no longer just workspaces, but also hubs for collaboration, innovation and talent development.

But they also need to meet a range of other needs. To gain a deeper insight into the defining traits of a prime office in 2025, Savills conducted a global survey of tenants, landlords and developers to understand their priorities and expectations.

Traditional factors such as natural light, building security and floor-to-ceiling height ranked highly. For tenants, the quality of collaboration spaces is a priority: they value them more highly than landlords and developers. Location is also key: as well as proximity to transport links, corporate tenants are focusing on vibrant city centre locations, that are close to shops and restaurants and are attractive places to work for their employees.

Indeed, the biggest priority for survey respondents is being close to a key transport hub, with 70% ranking this as the most important site selection factor for a prime office.

[insert graphics: impact of proximity to transport hubs in London, NYC and Tokyo]

How transport proximity affects office rents

To gain further insight into the importance of good transport links, we performed a regression analysis to assess how distance from a major transit hub affects prime office rents in three major cities: New York, London and Tokyo. Across the three cities, the study revealed that for every five minutes by foot that a prime office is closer to a major transport hub, the rent increases by an average of 6.7%.

Offices in Tokyo demonstrated the highest premium. For every five minutes closer to either Shibuya or Tokyo station, office rents increased by an average of 13%. For Tokyo Station alone, the effect was even more pronounced, with rents climbing 17% for each five-minute reduction in walking distance.

“We’re seeing strong demand for office space in Tokyo,” says Tetsuya Kaneko, Director and Head of Research and Consultancy, Savills Japan. “Business expansion and increased office attendance have encouraged tenants to lease more space or move to higher-quality premises. Good amenities and transport links are key to supporting the recruitment and retention of talented workers.”

In London, our study focused on offices within a one-mile radius of Liverpool Street station, in the heart of the city’s financial district. Here, every five minutes closer on foot to the station equates to a 4% increase in prime office rent.

And in New York, we considered walking distance to either Grand Central or Penn Station. The results showed that every five minutes closer to one of these transit hubs boosted rents by 3%.

Trophy assets and BREEAM – their impact on rents

Of course, there are an array of local dynamics that influence rents. “Tenants in London increasingly expect prime offices to have strong environmental performance and value certifications such as BREEAM,” says Catherine Facer, Director, Central London Agency, Savills. “That was underlined by our research: we found that for every additional level of BREEAM certification, London office rents increased by 7.4%. In other words, one additional BREEAM level is worth about the same as cutting the walking distance to a transport hub by eight and a half minutes.”

In New York, a key determinant is whether a building is classified as a ‘trophy asset’. On average this carries a 35% rent premium, although we are seeing examples of trophy assets that carry a 100% premium over wider grade A space. “There’s really one reason why these trophy assets are getting these rents, and that’s because they are in buildings that other people want to be in,” says Gabe Marans, Vice Chairman of Savills New York. “I don’t see the demand for these premium spaces shrinking – we’ll continue to see tight supply and upward pressure on prices.”

Location-specific idiosyncrasies also help to shed light on variations in rents across cities. For example, in other parts of London, such as the West End, no clear correlation between rents and distance to key underground stations emerged. This is partly due to the significance certain postcodes and streets hold for specific brands and industries, which command a higher premium regardless of their proximity to a key tube station.

It’s a similar story in New York. “Real estate here is extraordinarily local – and culture and history play an important role,” says Marans. “Some buildings have historically commanded high rents. As a result, they have housed premium tenants, which has made them more prestigious and supported the rent levels.”

The importance of green building credentials

The environmental credentials of office buildings are an important consideration for survey respondents. This is particularly marked in Europe, driven by investor and market expectations and strict regulation. It’s also a factor in Asia Pacific, where Australia leads the way.

Top 10 site selection factors for prime office

Source: Savills global survey of office tenants, landlords, and developers across global markets, Q1 2025

There is less emphasis on green building standards in the US, according to our survey, with the focus being more on energy efficiency. That said, many US-based institutional investors, landlords and multinationals have stepped up their commitments to sustainable practices amid growing momentum for environmental sustainability around the world.

As many corporate tenants prioritise sustainable office credentials, a green rental premium is increasingly evident, with the most environmentally certified office buildings commanding higher rents compared to their non-certified counterparts. In Europe, this green premium averages around 18% but varies by market. In the City of London, for example, the premium for the overall office market – representing the difference in rents between a building that is not rated for BREEAM compared with one that is rated ‘outstanding’ or ‘excellent’ – is 32%.

In Asia Pacific, meanwhile, the green premium averages 14%. Key cities including Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong are seeing the most notable green premiums. In the US, top-tier markets such as New York, Washington DC and Boston – where ESG-conscious occupiers and institutional landlords dominate – tend to see the strongest premiums.

This green premium is expected to increase over time, as regulations tighten, corporate ESG standards become more embedded, and scrutiny of greenwashing increases. At the same time, ‘brown discounts’ – rent penalties for less sustainable buildings – are emerging as a counterpoint to the green premium.

The future of prime offices

So what will the prime office of the future look like? As businesses face up to major trends such as demographic shifts, the climate crisis, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution – the question is not whether offices will continue to change, but how we will shape that change.

Countries such as Japan and much of Europe are facing a relative shortage of younger workers. As populations age, some developed economies are also seeing a shift towards higher retirement ages. As a result, the office of the future will need to adapt to a multi-generational workforce, meeting the needs of older workers while at the same time catering to younger employees who may prefer different work styles and dynamics.

Companies may also become more reliant on global talent pools to counter the scarcity of workers in certain geographies. “India will be home to 1 billion working-age adults by 2030,” says Arvind Nandan, Managing Director, Research and Consulting, at Savills India. “The country’s youthful and skilled technology workforce will increasingly attract global businesses seeking to access developing talent hubs.”

Globally, the push to green buildings is likely to continue, as the climate crisis accelerates. Businesses, architects and urban planners will need to continue to innovate. As well as creating sustainable offices that are energy-efficient and minimise waste, they need to design climate-resilient buildings that can withstand extreme heat, flooding, storms and other climate-related events.

The most significant change, however, is likely to come from the Fourth Industrial Revolution. AI, greater automation and immersive technologies have the potential to redefine the office, increase efficiency and change the way we think about work.

But for the potentially transformative impact of these technologies to be fully realised, a shift in mindset will be required. If businesses treat AI as just another tool to optimise outdated structures – rather than reimagining workflows, collaboration and decision-making – they may risk missing out on its full transformative power.

For example, AI-driven decision-making could make companies more agile, but only if businesses are willing to rethink their organisational models. Meanwhile, technologies such as Microsoft’s HoloLens, Meta’s hand-tracking VR systems and Apple’s Vision Pro could point to a future based around gesture-based computing – but how quickly will a workforce that is familiar with using a keyboard be willing to embrace it?

One thing is clear: the office will need to build on its successful history of adaptation to thrive in the future. It needs to continue to evolve to ensure we design workplaces that inspire and empower the people who work in them and make the most of technological change.