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Hong Kong Office Leasing - Oct 2022

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Contacts & Related Research

Office rents continue to fall

Vacancy reached new heights in the third quarter with buildings in Central and Kowloon East suffering the most.

  • The third quarter saw further rental declines across all districts ranging from -0.4% to -3.4%.
  • Vacancy now stands at 10.2% (6.5 million sq ft net) with notable pockets of availability appearing in Kowloon East (14.4% / 1.9 million sq ft net) and Central (8.3% / 1.3 million sq ft net).
  • In a regional context it is worth noting that Hong Kong is still an expensive place to do business compared with many of our neighbours.
  • The effective closure of the border with Mainland China has cooled demand from mainland businesses which, though remarkably resilient through the pandemic, is still below 2018 levels.
  • Looking ahead, besides mainland businesses, demand is emerging (modestly) from several areas including ESG firms, Fintech, cryptos and NFTs / art auctioneers, medical services, government and public bodies, and private members clubs.

Although the border closure and weak stock market have hindered further expansion by Mainland companies, we still see modest demand from ESG firms, Fintech, cryptos and NFTs / art auctioneers, medical services, government and public bodies, and private members clubs.

Simon Smith, Savills Research & Consultancy
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