The Zhitong Finance App learned that JLL published the “Hong Kong Real Estate Market Watch” report today that the overall vacancy rate of Grade A office buildings fell back to 12.8% at the end of July, returning to the level recorded in December 2023, setting a new low in 31 months.
The overall vacancy situation of office buildings has improved, mainly driven by a decline in vacancy rates in most sub-markets. Among them, Tsim Sha Tsui continues to maintain a relatively low vacancy level. Central outperformed other major commercial districts, with the highest decline in monthly vacancy rates of any region. The area's vacancy rate fell 0.8 percentage points to 8% at the end of July, reflecting continued active leasing transactions in the market.
Sam Gourlay (Sam Gourlay), head of the Hong Kong commercial department at JLL, said that the Hong Kong office leasing market picked up further in July and recorded a net absorption of 313,000 square feet. Among them, financial institutions, banks and professional service institutions are still the main drivers of rental demand. According to discussions between JLL and financial clients, there has been a significant shift in the Fund's location preferences for setting up a base in Asia. In 2025, 70% of the newly established funds chose Singapore, 20% chose Hong Kong, and 10% chose Tokyo; however, the situation has clearly reversed this year, with over 70% of new funds choosing to settle in Hong Kong. Over the past month alone, 8 out of 10 funds have chosen to settle in Hong Kong. It is expected that this demand will continue to support the recovery of the Central Grade A office market.
Chung Chu-ru, senior director of JLL's research department, added that overall office rents increased by 0.8% month-on-month in July, mainly driven by rent increases in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui. Rents in the two districts increased by 1.5% and 0.5% respectively.