
Slowing decline in Hong Kong office rents unlikely to benefit distressed landlords
Overall grade A office rents fell 1 per cent quarter on quarter compared with steeper declines in earlier quarters, according to data from Cushman & Wakefield.
Prime Central, Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon West recorded a milder decline in rents than districts like Kowloon East and Causeway Bay, by up to 0.6 per cent quarter-on-quarter, the data showed.
'A narrower rental decline signals that the market may be approaching greater stability, which is encouraging for both landlords and investors,' said John Siu, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield Hong Kong. 'It suggests that rental corrections are slowing, and that we may be nearing a pricing floor, especially in prime locations.'
Office rents in Hong Kong have dropped by more than 42.8 per cent from a peak in 2019 due to a slump in the city's real estate market, Cushman said in a recent report. The monthly rent in Central, which has been historically known for having the world's most expensive office rents, has dropped to HK$89.30 (US$11.40) per square foot from HK$166.10 per square foot in January 2019.
Hong Kong skyline as seen from The Peak. Photo: Sam Tsang
HSBC Global Research said in a recent report that the office market was picking up amid improving financial activity in Hong Kong, but the research arm of Hong Kong's biggest bank expected downward pressure on rents to continue. It revised its full-year forecast for the office rent decline to 5 to 7 per cent from 7 to 10 per cent previously.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Standard
9 hours ago
- The Standard
Hong Kong stocks rise as Middle East tensions ease
The Hang Seng Index added 185 points, or about 0.77 percent, to 24,362 points by noon. SING TAO


South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
4,200 transitional flats earmarked for Hong Kong's displaced subdivided tenants
Hong Kong authorities have said around 4,200 transitional flats can cope with the temporary accommodation needs for tenants displaced under a future regulation that could force 33,000 subpar subdivided homes to undergo significant rectification. Under Secretary for Housing Victor Tai Sheung-shing told the legislature on Monday that the government would set aside up to 20 per cent of its 21,000 transitional homes for tenants affected by a subdivided flat regulation. The regulation will only allow those meeting the official standards to become accredited 'basic housing units' and remain on the rental market. The bill is expected to pass by the end of October and gives time for owners to register from next March, as well as fix their properties by the end of February 2030. Tai said some tenants of the 110,000 existing subdivided flats could look for basic housing units, as only 30 per cent of the current supply would have to undergo large-scale renovation to receive accreditation. He added that some tenants could also be accommodated in the 189,000 public homes to be built in the coming five years. 'We foresee that the market supply of basic housing units will not plunge. Meanwhile, we have a massive supply of public housing and transitional housing. Therefore, we are confident that the supply is sufficient,' said Tai in the legislature's housing panel.


South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong lawmakers call for facial recognition system at upgraded land crossing
Hong Kong legislators have called for facial recognition technology to be adopted at the upgraded Huanggang land crossing while giving an initial green light to a HK$1.75 billion government proposal to site border clearance facilities in the complex. At a meeting of the Legislative Council's security panel on Monday, some lawmakers also expressed concern that the expanded Huanggang checkpoint, which was designed to handle 200,000 passengers and 15,000 vehicles every day between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, could overload nearby traffic. In addition to co-location arrangements that allow travellers to clear immigration channels in both jurisdictions at a single site, Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung told the panel that a new clearance model would be adopted. The two governments would set up counters side by side inside the port to enhance border clearance efficiency, he said. The 'collaborative inspection and joint clearance' model, currently used at some checkpoints between Macau and Zhuhai, will allow travellers to queue up once for immigration clearance, shortening the time from around half an hour to five minutes. 'These efforts aim to facilitate the efficient and smooth flow of people and goods, and thus strengthen the connectivity between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area,' Tang said.