Hong Kong Office Leasing

Office Leasing

July 2017

Central, Wanchai and Causeway Bay rents saw strong growth over the quarter in contrast to Kowloon.

Central rents have again recorded their highest premium over the rest of the market for the second consecutive quarter and island rents are again faring much better than Kowloon.

PRC financial firms, both buy-side and sell-side, have been the most active tenants over the quarter partly due to Bond Connect launched in May 2017.

Sheung Wan is proving a popular location for PRC securities and asset management firms due to the lack of space in core Central.

Vacancy rates in Kowloon East are expected to rise driven by sluggish pre-leasing activity, with negotiations in progress but few, if any, pre-leasing agreements actually concluded.

Landlords in Kowloon East are willing to cut rents but tenants are not willing to take up space as rental savings are currently insufficient to cover surging relocation costs.