Overall office vacancy rate improves in September
Office rents retreated by 1.0% m-o-m
HONG KONG, October 19, 2023 – The overall Grade A office leasing market continued to improve, with the overall vacancy rate dropped slightly to 12.7% in September, according to JLL's latest Hong Kong Property Market Monitor released today.
Three out of the major business districts recorded improvement in vacancy rates. Central saw its vacancy rate decrease to 9.6%, while Tsimshatsui and Kowloon East experienced a drop of 0.4 and 0.3 percentage points in vacancy respectively.
Alex Barnes, Managing Director and Head of Office Leasing Advisory at JLL in Hong Kong, said: “Last month, the overall Grade A office market showed further improvement, with a positive net absorption of 66,100 sq ft. Notably, it is also the first time in two years that Tsimshatsui’s vacancy rate fell below 10% as the supply is tight in this district.”
Among a handful of new lettings, the MTR Corporation leased around a gross floor area of 135,000 sq ft at One North in Yuen Long to accommodate its business expansion.
Cathie Chung, Senior Director of Research at JLL, said: "Overall net effective rent retreated by 1.0% m-o-m in September. Among the major office submarkets, Central and Wanchai / Causeway Bay witnessed rental drops of 1.5% and 0.4%, respectively, while Kowloon East’s rent remained flat."
| Grade A Office Vacancy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Period | Overall | Central | Wanchai/Causeway Bay | Hong Kong East | Tsimshatsui | Kowloon East |
| End-Sept 23 | 12.7% | 9.6% | 10.1% | 13.1% | 9.9% | 19.2% |
| End-Aug 23 | 12.8% | 9.9% | 9.6% | 12.8% | 10.3% | 19.5% |
Source: JLL Research
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