The Zhitong Finance App learned that JLL published a report stating that the overall vacancy rate in the Hong Kong Grade A office market has declined for the 5th month in a row to the lowest level since May 2023, and office leasing activities in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui have become the main driving factor. According to the data, as of the end of September, the overall vacancy rate of Grade A office buildings fell 0.1 percentage points month-on-month to 12.4%.
Regionally, the improvement was most significant in Central, with the vacancy rate falling to 7.2% from 7.8% in August; Tsimshatsui occupancy rates continued to improve; Wanchai/Causeway Bay vacancy rates increased the most, increasing by 0.6 percentage points month on month; while Hong Kong Island East and Kowloon East each increased 0.2 percentage points.
Guo Liyan, head of the Hong Kong commercial department at JLL, said that the Hong Kong Grade A office market recorded a positive net absorption of 245,800 square feet in September. As leasing activities focus on high-quality office buildings in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, and increasingly to new commercial building projects in West Kowloon, the vacancy rate of top quality office buildings continues to decline.
Chung Chu-ru, senior director of JLL's research department, added that overall office rents rose 0.7% month-on-month in September, mainly driven by rent growth in Central, which increased 1.6% month-on-month. Apart from the 0.6% month-on-month decrease in rents in Kowloon East, rents in other major office districts remained generally stable.