The importance of property‐specific attributes in assessing CBD office building quality

Purpose – This paper identifies the importance of key factors influencing the quality of CBD office buildings. An office building quality index (BQI) is constructed and its relationship with net rent assessed. Design/methodology/approach – The importance of 30 property‐specific CBD office building attributes on the quality of CBD office buildings is assessed using a survey of property industry respondents. The analytical hierarchy process procedure is used to determine weights for each of these attributes to construct an office BQI. Findings – Findings indicate that functionality (31.0 per cent), services (22.6 per cent), access and circulation (16.4 per cent), presentation (13.1 per cent), management (11.5 per cent) and amenities (5.4 per cent) are the order of importance in assessing office building quality. There was found to be a strong functional relationship between office building quality and net rent. Practical implications – A better understanding of the factors influencing CBD office building quality is determined, with a more effective and practical office BQI developed for benchmarking purposes in property portfolios. Originality/value – Importance of CBD office building attributes is determined and a new CBD office BQI is developed for practical implementation in the property industry.