JLL: Hong Kong Grade A office market continues to improve in May, with vacancy rate dropping.

On June 18th, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) released the "Hong Kong Property Market Watch" report, pointing out that the Grade A office market in Hong Kong continued to improve in May, with the vacancy rates in four out of the five major commercial districts falling. The completion of China Merchants Tower in Sheung Wan last month brought 142,700 square feet of net lettable area to the market. Despite new projects being completed, the overall office vacancy rate decreased to 13.6%, with improvements seen in most district markets. The vacancy rates in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui decreased to 11.6% and 7.8% respectively. In contrast, the vacancy rate in Hong Kong East rose to 14.2%. The overall leasing market recorded a positive net absorption of 192,000 square feet in May. Brooke Yu, Managing Director of Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) in Hong Kong, noted that there has been an improvement in the Hong Kong office market, with some companies seizing the current market conditions to lease high-quality office spaces. It is worth noting that OKX Hong Kong FinTech Company Limited leased a floor space at AIRSIDE in Kai Tak, involving a building area of 36,000 square feet. Catharine Cheung, Senior Director of Research at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), stated that office rental declines continued in May, with a slight decrease of 0.3% on a monthly basis. The most significant decline was in Hong Kong East, dropping by 1.0%, followed by Kowloon East, falling by 0.7%. Central and Wan Chai/Causeway Bay decreased by 0.4% and 0.2% respectively.