Overall vacancy rate for Grade A office up slightly 9.4% in June

Vacancy rate in Central rose from 7.6% to 7.9%.

The overall vacancy rate for the Grade A office market inched up to 9.4% at the end of June, according to JLL’s latest Hong Kong Property Market Monitor.

The vacancy rate in Central went up from 7.6% to 7.9% but it improved to 10.2% in Tsimshatsui.

Meanwhile, the market reported negative net absorption of 96,800 square feet in June after the market experienced positive take-up for eight consecutive months.

Paul Yien, executive director of office leasing advisory at JLL, said it is normal to see take-up rate under pressure whilst the leasing market is still disrupted by the pandemic.

But he noted that some firms seek to expand in core business districts such as the Grade A office rents dropping 28.3% from the market in 2019, which appealed to tenants.

Overall net effective rents of Grade A office space edged down by 0.1% month-on-month in June.

Amongst the major office submarkets, Central’s office rents are still flat, whilst Wanchai and Causeway Bay posted a larger rental fall.