Experts from the company have been poring over figures from 2010, during which time overall rental levels increased by close to 31 per cent, and another strong year has now been forecast for the coming 12 months.
A full year of negative take-up of grade A office space in Hong Kong was recorded during 2008-2009, but since then, the trajectory of demand for the city’s commercial floor plates has been very much on the up.
The second half of last year saw a particularly sharp rise in interest levels in Hong Kong’s major business districts, which DTZ attributes in part to a generally thriving local economy.
Increasing interaction between companies with offices in Hong Kong and other areas of the Asia-Pacific region is expected to encourage further economic growth across the city, but there are still some concerns about the performance of Western economies.
“The operation and expansion budget of companies with Western-oriented businesses or with close trade connections with the West is still subject to uncertainty if their headquarters’ performance or business is affected by the prolonged drag of an economic slump,” explained Andy Yeun, DTZ’s office agency director.
“This remains a concern in an otherwise upbeat and vibrant office market of Hong Kong in 2011.”
Back in November of last year, CB Richard Ellis reported that the costs associated with renting available office space in Hong Kong are higher than anywhere else in the world, with the exception of that in London’s West End.
Editor’s notes: During and after the pandemic, Hong Kong experienced exceptional hardships, including civil unrest, which was reflected in a slower recovery rate than in some other major cities.
However, in April 2023, it was reported that Hong Kong’s office vacancy rate had declined for the first time in 10 months, falling to 12 per cent from 12.2 per cent.
It was also reported that there was a net absorption of 203,900 square feet of office space in March, adding to the city’s optimism.
Similar to the time when this article was first published in 2011, following an unprecedentedly difficult period, developers, agents and landlords were seeing positive signs.
The easing of pandemic restrictions and the reopening of the border with mainland China on February 6 injected energy into the market, and Hong Kong’s government forecast gross domestic product growth of 3.5 per cent to 5.5 per cent in 2023.
Research conducted in June 2026 found that total net absorption in the Hong Kong office market reached 614,300 square feet in Q1 2026, down 59.7 per cent quarter-on-quarter. However, this was from the elevated base in Q4 2025, in which multiple office schemes were completed.
It was also reported that the overall vacancy rate in the Hong Kong office market was 13.5 per cent in the first quarter.
Office rents in Hong Kong grew 1.5 per cent quarter on quarter between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, equating to 4.1 per cent year on year.
Research conducted by Savills found that Hong Kong was the second most expensive location in which to rent office space worldwide in Q4 2025, with a net effective cost of $227.68 per square foot.