For most of the history of corporate real estate, location decisions have been driven primarily by two factors: rent and transport links. These matter, obviously. But they represent a fraction of what determines whether a location actually works for a business and its people. A cheap office next to a train station in a neighbourhood with no amenities, poor air quality, and limited food options is not a good deal — it is a retention risk.

We developed a 7-dimension framework for market area analysis after observing that the most successful location decisions consistently considered factors beyond the lease economics. Here is each dimension, why it matters, and how we approach scoring it.

1. Walkability

Walkability measures how well the immediate area around a site supports pedestrian movement and daily needs. Can employees walk to lunch, a pharmacy, a coffee shop, a gym? Is the streetscape pleasant and safe, or does it require navigating dual carriageways and surface car parks?

This dimension is scored based on:

  • Pedestrian infrastructure — pavement quality, crossings, pedestrian zones
  • Amenity density — number and variety of retail, food, and service establishments within a 10-minute walk
  • Last-mile rating — how easy it is to cover the final distance from the nearest transport node to the office on foot

Walkability correlates strongly with employee satisfaction in post-occupancy surveys. It is also a proxy for neighbourhood vitality — areas with high walkability tend to retain their attractiveness over time.

2. Culture and vibe

This is the qualitative character of the neighbourhood. Is it a business district that empties at 6pm, or a mixed-use area with evening and weekend life? What is the demographic profile — young professionals, families, students? What kind of businesses and cultural institutions are nearby?

Culture and vibe matters because it affects talent attraction. Companies competing for younger knowledge workers increasingly find that office location is a differentiator. A location in a vibrant, culturally active neighbourhood signals something about the company — and employees notice.

We assess this dimension through:

  • Top amenities — the defining establishments in the area (restaurants, galleries, markets, co-working spaces)
  • Demographic profile — age distribution, income levels, and professional composition of the area’s population
  • Day-night character — whether the area has economic and social activity beyond standard office hours

3. Transportation

Beyond the binary question of "is there a train station nearby," transportation analysis should capture the full picture of how people can reach the site and how the site connects to the broader network.

We evaluate:

  • Transit modes available — metro, bus, tram, commuter rail, and their frequency during peak and off-peak hours
  • Cycle infrastructure — dedicated lanes, bike parking, bike-share availability (increasingly relevant as cities invest in cycling networks)
  • Airport access — travel time to the nearest major airport, relevant for companies with frequent business travel or international visitors
  • Multimodal connectivity — how well different transport modes connect at or near the site

Transportation quality has a direct impact on the catchment area for talent. A site with excellent multi-modal transport can draw from a wider geography, which is particularly valuable in tight labour markets.

4. Health and wellbeing

This dimension captures the environmental and health-related qualities of the area. It has gained significant weight in location decisions since 2020, as companies have become more attentive to the physical environment they ask employees to work in.

Key factors:

  • Green space — proximity to parks, gardens, or waterfront areas that provide outdoor space for breaks and informal meetings
  • Air quality — measured pollutant levels (PM2.5, NO2) based on local monitoring data. This varies dramatically within a single city
  • Noise levels — ambient noise from traffic, construction, or industry
  • Nearby health and fitness facilities — gyms, yoga studios, running routes, outdoor exercise areas

Health and wellbeing scoring is particularly important for companies with explicit ESG commitments or wellness certifications (WELL, Fitwel). The surrounding environment matters as much as the building itself.

5. Rent intelligence

This is the dimension most RE professionals are already familiar with, but we treat it with more granularity than a single headline figure. Rent intelligence encompasses:

  • Prime rent — achievable rent for the best-quality space in the submarket, per square metre per year
  • Secondary rent — achievable rent for good-quality but non-prime space, which is often more relevant for occupiers
  • Vacancy rate — current vacancy in the submarket, which indicates negotiating leverage and availability risk
  • Rent trend (12 months) — direction and magnitude of rent movement, indicating whether the market is tightening or softening
  • Currency and measurement unit — critical for multi-country comparison, always expressed consistently

Rent intelligence is only meaningful in context. A prime rent of 450 EUR/sqm in a market trending upward at 8% per year has very different implications from the same figure in a flat market with rising vacancy.

6. Standard responsibilities

Beyond rent, occupiers bear a set of standard costs that vary significantly by market and by lease structure. These are often underestimated or overlooked in location comparisons because they are harder to benchmark than rent.

  • Service charge per square metre — the annual cost of building services, management, and common area maintenance
  • Business rates or property tax multiplier — the occupier’s share of local property taxation, which can represent 20–40% of total occupancy cost in some markets
  • Dilapidations norm — the expected end-of-lease reinstatement liability, which varies from negligible (in some continental European markets) to substantial (in the UK, where dilapidations can run to 50–100 GBP/sqm)

These costs are real, recurring, and often contractually fixed. Ignoring them in a location comparison is equivalent to comparing salaries without considering tax rates.

7. Other occupancy costs

The final dimension captures the costs that are less visible but materially affect the total cost of occupying a location:

  • Fit-out cost range — the expected cost per square metre for a standard office fit-out in that market, expressed as a low-high range. This varies from 500 EUR/sqm in some Eastern European markets to 2,000+ EUR/sqm in prime London or Zurich
  • Typical rent-free period — the market norm for rent-free months offered as an incentive, which effectively reduces the total cost over the lease term
  • Total occupancy cost estimate — an all-in annual figure that combines rent, service charge, rates, and amortised fit-out, providing a single comparable number

How the framework is used

Each dimension produces a score (typically 0–100), a narrative explanation, and dimension-specific data points. The scores enable quick comparison: if you are evaluating three potential markets for a new office, you can compare them side by side across all seven dimensions and immediately see where each excels or falls short.

But the real value is in the narratives and the data. A walkability score of 72 versus 65 is informative. The explanation that the lower-scoring area has excellent restaurant density but poor pedestrian infrastructure due to a planned road widening project is actionable.

The framework is also designed to be reusable. Once an area has been analysed, that analysis serves as a reference for any future project involving that market. It does not need to be regenerated unless the data is stale — we typically recommend refreshing after 90 days for fast-moving markets, or after any significant change (new transport infrastructure, major development, policy change).

Beyond the checklist

The 7-dimension framework is not a mechanical scoring exercise. It is a structured way to ensure that location decisions consider the full picture — not just the factors that are easy to quantify. The dimensions interact: a location with high rent but excellent walkability, transport, and culture may deliver better employee experience and talent retention than a cheaper location that scores poorly on those dimensions.

The best location decisions are the ones where the trade-offs are explicit and deliberate, not accidental. A framework that surfaces all seven dimensions ensures that nothing important is overlooked, and that the final decision reflects the company’s actual priorities — not just its budget.

Location is the longest-duration decision in corporate real estate. A lease commitment of five to ten years means living with the consequences of your analysis for a long time. Seven dimensions, rigorously assessed, give you the best chance of getting it right.