Asia-Pacific prime office rents rise for first time since pandemic

Knight Frank's Asia-Pacific Prime Office Rental Index saw a 0.3% quarter-on-quarter increase, the first uptick since Q3 2019, before the start of the pandemic. Overall vacancy remains elevated at 12.8%, but office rents are likely to have bottomed out, thanks to improving business sentiments and a gradual and more sustainable return to workplaces, especially among big tech occupiers taking advantage of lower rents to move into high-quality CBD office spaces.

While conditions remain tentative due to the Omicron variant, we expect rents to continue stabilising into 2022 with more markets in the region reaching an inflexion point in the rental downcycle. As occupiers continually evolve their space strategies on the adoption of hybrid working styles, 2022 will be a year of reset and experimentation. However, this does not mean less demand for office spaces. We expect leasing activity to strengthen into 2022, with demand underpinned by the integration of flexible space solutions and a pivot to quality spaces that emphasises wellness and employee experience.

This article was originally published in https://www.knightfrank.com/