Jones Lang Lasalle released a Hong Kong property market observation report, indicating that the overall grade A office market in Hong Kong improved in August, with a net absorption of 0.3351 million square feet, reaching a new monthly high for the year to date. As of the end of August, the overall vacancy rate in the grade A office market was 13.4%, a monthly decrease of 0.3 percentage points.

Among them, the vacancy rate in Tsim Sha Tsui decreased from 9.3% to 9%, while the vacancy rates in Hong Kong Island East and Kowloon East dropped by 0.2 and 0.4 percentage points to 12.9% and 18.4% respectively. The vacancy rate in Central rose slightly by 0.1 percentage points to 12.1%. The vacancy rate in Wan Chai/Causeway Bay remained stable at 10%.

Alex Barnes, Managing Director and Head of Commercial Department at Jones Lang Lasalle Hong Kong, revealed that large tenants are beginning to commit to leasing, driving the net absorption of office space last month. The office leasing market continues to be primarily driven by demand from tenants looking to improve the quality of workspace and save costs, leading to a continuous improvement in the vacancy rate in Hong Kong Island East.

Christine Chung, Senior Director of Research at Jones Lang Lasalle, stated that overall market rents continued to decline by 1.3% in August. In the major market areas, rents in Central and Kowloon East decreased by 1.5% and 1.8% respectively, while rents in Wan Chai/Causeway Bay and Hong Kong Island East fell by 0.6% and 2.2% respectively.