Hong Kong’s premium office vacancy rate hits 19-year high of 12 per cent as more companies adopt work-from-home policies to counter downturn

There is 9.8 million sq ft of empty grade A space in the city, equivalent to about five International Finance Centres or 170 football fields, according to a CBRE report on Tuesday

Kowloon East had the highest vacancy rate, at 14.6 per cent, while in the city’s main business zone, Central, the rate was 8.2 per cent

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There is 9.8 million square feet of empty grade A space in the city, equivalent to 170 football fields, according to a CBRE report. Photo: K. Y. Cheng

Published: 8:30am, 6 Jul 2022Updated: 3:02pm, 8 Jul 2022

The vacancy rate in Hong Kong’s premium office market climbed to 12 per cent in June, the highest in almost 19 years, as a rising number of companies adopt work-from-home arrangements and cost saving measures to cope with the economic downturn.

There is 9.8 million square feet of empty grade A space in the city, equivalent to about five International Finance Centres or 170 football fields, according to a CBRE report on Tuesday.

“As the trend of downsizing and cost saving continue, measures like work-from-home arrangements will remain, which leads to such high vacancy rates in all submarkets,” said Ada Fung, an executive director at CBRE.

Some of Hong Kong’s main office districts – Wan Chai and Causeway Bay, Hong Kong East, Tsim Sha Tsui and Kowloon East – saw double-digit vacancy rates last month. Kowloon East had the highest at 14.6 per cent, the data showed.