By the end of Q4 2023, the total Grade A office inventory in the core markets of the 21 major cities in Greater China we track totaled 68.2 million sq m. In the meantime, total premium core city office net absorption across the Greater China market for the whole year was 1.6 million sq m, an increase compared to the figure registered in 2022.
Among the six major cities in the region, Taipei registered the lowest vacancy rate, at 8.3%. As for the tier-2 city group, Suzhou recorded the lowest vacancy rate at 16.5% among our tracked city markets in Greater China.
2023 was the first full "normal operating" year after the pandemic. However, during the year, the Grade A office market in Greater China faced a number of new challenges. Given the slow pace of economic recovery, office leasing demand was relatively weak throughout 2023 and did not see a rapid rebound. At the same time, the office market was under pressure as supply remained high across the region.
Ahead, the volume of quality office supply in many cities in Greater China is expected to enter a peak period this year. Meanwhile, the total new supply in the core markets of many second-tier cities, in addition to the six major cities, will exceed one million square meters by 2027.
Much of the future supply expected to complete will land in suburban locations, which will continue to drive decentralization as a number of tenants seek quality space at discounted rentals.
This report focuses on the Grade A office market in the Greater China region and provides an understanding of:
- The office supply/demand trends experienced in the region over the course of the past year
- An outlook on office supply/demand in Greater China for the year ahead and beyond
- An insight and outlook of the office supply/demand trends for each major city in the Greater China region
