Miles Ma Taiyang: The number of commercial shops registered in Hong Kong in May reached 455, an increase for the third consecutive month, with a registered amount of approximately 3.93 billion Hong Kong dollars.

According to comprehensive data from the Land Registry of the Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department studied by the Midland Holding Research Department, in May 2026, there were 455 registrations of commercial properties, a slight increase of 0.7% compared to the previous month, marking the third consecutive month of increase since November 2024 and hitting a new high for the year since April 2025; the registration amount was approximately HK$39.3 billion, a decrease of 43.1% compared to the previous month. If we sum up the registrations for the first five months, there were a total of 2,063 commercial property registrations, an increase of 10.9% year-on-year, and reaching a new high for the same period in the past four years; the registration amount for the same period was approximately HK$21.54 billion, a decrease of 14.9% year-on-year. Matthias Ma, Executive Director (Residential) and Executive Director of Midland Commercial Property, stated that after a period of price adjustments in the commercial property market, funds continued to be absorbed at low prices, leading to high transaction volumes and amounts. The registration volume of commercial properties has been steadily increasing since March this year, reaching a new high in a single month, indicating a continuous improvement in market acceptance. In terms of performance in May, office buildings were the most outstanding sector, with 244 registrations, an increase of 9.4% compared to the previous month, also hitting a new high for the past year since April 2025 and serving as an important driver for the market's continued growth; the registration amount was HK$10.8 billion, a decrease of 3.2%. In other sectors, the registration volume for shopping malls in May was 96, a decrease of 15.0% compared to the previous month; the registration amount was approximately HK$1.8 billion, a decrease of 61.8%. For shop registrations, there were 115 registrations, a decrease of 0.9% compared to the previous month, with a registration amount of HK$1.05 billion, also down by 2.0%. When analyzing the market conditions for the first five months, all three major sectors saw increases in registration volume year-on-year, with retail properties showing the most significant increase. The total number of new registrations for retail properties in the first five months was 526, an increase of 33.2% year-on-year, but the registration amount still fell by 19.7%. In the same period, there were 481 registrations for shopping malls, an increase of 7.8%, while the registration amount was approximately HK$10.61 billion, a decrease of 7.8%. For office buildings, there were a total of 1,056 registrations in the first five months, an increase of 3.5% year-on-year; the registration amount was HK$5.74 billion, a decrease of 21.8%. Ma believes that the registration amounts for the three major sectors of commercial properties have all declined so far this year, reflecting a trend of continuous price adjustments and a preference for lower-priced properties. There were only 140 transactions above HK$20 million in the first five months of this year, a decrease of 5.4% year-on-year, and the proportion of these transactions to the overall market fell from about 8% last year to 6.8%. Ma also pointed out that another point to note is the continuous improvement in the prices of Grade A office buildings. In May, the prices of Grade A office buildings rose for two consecutive months, reaching a four-month high. As for vacancy rates, the vacancy rate for Grade A office buildings in May further decreased to 9.3%, a decrease of 0.3 percentage points compared to the previous month, reaching a low not seen since February 2022; in particular, the vacancy rate in core areas improved significantly, with decreases in areas such as Causeway Bay, Wan Chai, Central, and Tsim Sha Tsui. Ma pointed out that as vacancy rates for Grade A office buildings continued to decline and rents and prices simultaneously rose, this reflects a gradual improvement in the market's supply-demand relationship and will also help increase property returns, becoming an important factor in attracting capital inflows. With new supply of commercial premises relatively controlled and demand for high-quality shopping malls and properties in core areas steadily increasing, transactions in the commercial property market are expected to remain active this year. However, the prices of commercial properties are still in an adjustment phase in the short term, and the trend of increasing volume while decreasing amounts is expected to continue for some time. Nevertheless, with the support of increasing transaction volumes, momentum from shopping malls, improvements in the leasing market, and the downward trend in vacancy rates, the market is gradually moving towards stability.