Hong Kong Grade A office leasing volume drops 30% to 1.8m sq ft in H1

This is only 41% of 2024 totals.

According to a CBRE report, Hong Kong’s Grade A office leasing momentum remained largely stable in Q2 2025, with gross leasing volume contracting by 3% quarter-on-quarter to 885,500 sq. ft.

“This brought the total volume for H1 2025 to 1.8 million sq. ft., a decline of 30% year-on-year and representing only 41% of the full-year total for 2024,” the report said.

Here’s more from CBRE:

Citywide net absorption recovered to 147,700 sq. ft. after two quarters in negative territory. The H1 2025 total was -111,400 sq. ft., well down on H1 2024’s 1.0 million sq. ft. Positive net absorption was concentrated in core submarkets. Greater Central reported a gain of 155,400 sq. ft., bringing its H1 2025 total to 186,000 sq. ft., the strongest half-year figure since H2 2015.

Net absorption in Hong Kong East logged -43,900 sq. ft., partly driven by downsizing in North Point, the weakest submarket. Kowloon East remained in negative territory for the fourth consecutive quarter, registering -273,100 sq. ft. in H1 2025, a record low for a half-year.

The lack of new supply combined with positive net absorption ensured overall vacancy fell by 0.1 percentage points to 17.4% in Q2 2025. However, this is still up from the 16.9% seen six months ago.

Overall rents dropped at a slower pace, falling by 0.6% quarter-on-quarter and 2.8% year-to-date. Rents in Central remained stable quarter-on-quarter, making it the only major submarket without a decline in Q2 2025. All major submarkets registered rental declines in H1 2025.

According to Ada Fung, Executive Director, Head of Advisory & Transaction Services, CBRE Hong Kong: Hong Kong’s Grade A office market continued to slow in terms of leasing momentum in H1 2025, despite a continuous improvement in Central. Q2 2025 saw new leasing volume in Central registered the highest level in a quarter since Q2 2015, supported by a major pre-commitment deal.

“Improvement in financial market sentiment and Hong Kong’s strong IPO pipeline will see sustained deal flows in and around the CBD in H2 2025. However, citywide vacancy rates remained high, particularly in decentralised areas, as occupiers continued to optimise space usage. Overall rents are expected to remain on a downward trend in H2 2025,” Fung added.