Hong Kong Grade A office take-up hits 2.1m sq ft in H1 2026

Central led activity with 100 leasing deals during the first half.

Hong Kong's Grade A office market strengthened further in the first half of 2026, with leasing momentum accelerating, vacancy falling and rents returning to growth, according to CBRE.

Leasing volume rose 23% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) to 1.1 million sq ft in Q2, bringing H1 take-up to 2.1 million sq ft, or 48% of the full-year total recorded in 2025. Central led activity with 100 leasing deals in H1, marking its strongest first-half performance since 2019.

CBRE said citywide net absorption reached 569,600 sq ft in Q2, lifting H1 net absorption to 945,000 sq ft, a sharp turnaround from negative 88,000 sq ft in the same period last year. Greater Tsim Sha Tsui recorded the strongest quarterly absorption at 163,500 sq ft, followed by Central with 104,300 sq ft and Hong Kong East with 104,400 sq ft, driven by demand from insurance occupiers.

The combination of positive absorption and limited new supply pushed the overall vacancy rate down by 0.6 percentage points to 16.2%, marking a second consecutive quarterly decline. According to CBRE, overall rents increased 2.0% q-o-q and 3.5% year-to-date, reversing the declines seen in the second half of 2025. Central outperformed, with rents rising 10.7% year-to-date, while Greater Tsim Sha Tsui recorded its fourth straight quarter of rental growth.

CBRE said occupier demand remained strongest among financial services, insurance and professional services firms, with growing interest in West Kowloon as a business hub linked to the Greater Bay Area via the High-Speed Rail network.