Commercial real estate rents in Sofia rose by 4% as at the end of 2008, to 65 euros per square meter, a CBRE survey reveals.

This makes commercial real estate in Sofia the second cheapest to rent in Eastern Europe and in the Middle east. Only Bratislava has cheaper rents than Sofia - 60 euros/sq m.

Such properties in Bucharest cost twice as much to rent (130 euros/sq m). Rents in Romania's capital fell by 7.1% in Q4, and by 18.2% compared with 2007.

Serbia also has much higher prices for commercial properties than Bulgaria. Rents for luxury properties in the capital city Belgrade are at 100 euros/sq m, although the country saw a significant drop in rents last year - they are 9.1% down on a three-months basis and 16.7% down compared with 2007.

In Zagreb (Croatia) rents for commercial real estate run at around 85 euros/sq m, which is 6.3% higher than in 2008.

Rents appreciated the most in Tel Aviv - by 53.9% in Q4. Lion is next with a 38.9% in Q3.

Moscow saw the biggest depreciation - rents fell by 23.5% year-on-year. Despite that, the Russian capital still has the highest rents at 6 538 euros/sq m per year. Next is Paris (6 300 euros/sq m).

Third is London's West End where rents are at around 5 143 euros/sq meters per year.