Central Grade A office hits lowest vacancy rate since 2023

The area drove the 0.3% overall increase in Hong Kong office rents.

Vacancy rates for Grade A office space in Central fell to 10.1% at the end of January—the lowest level for the submarket since 2023—according to JLL data.

The rate decreased 0.8 percentage points from December, following a peak of 12.2% in September 2024.

Cathie Chung, Senior Director of Research at JLL, noted that overall office rents across Hong Kong rose 0.3% in January, driven by Central, where rents increased 1.2%, whilst other submarkets recorded declines.

This marks the fourth consecutive month of rent growth, she added.

The overall Grade A office vacancy rate for the region reached 13.5% at the end of January, down from 14.1% in December, with net absorption of 589,700 square feet in the month.

Within submarkets, Wanchai/Causeway Bay and Tsimshatsui each recorded a 0.5-percentage-point decrease in vacancy, whilst Kowloon East saw a 0.1-percentage-point decline.

Specific transactions included Turiya Capital leasing a 5,700 sq ft unit at The Henderson in Central, relocating from the Henley Building.

JLL reports that demand is primarily driven by the financial sector. Sam Gourlay, Head of Office Leasing Advisory at JLL Hong Kong, stated that vacancy rates in some Central buildings have reached single digits.