Grade A Offices: Tenant Advantages Deepen with Greater Flexibility and Choice Greater China Top Office Supply/Demand Trends
According to the report, at the end of Q2 2025, the total Grade A office inventory in the core markets of the 20 major cities in Greater China we track totaled 72.1 million sq m. In the meantime, total premium core city office net absorption across the Greater China market for the H1 2025 period reached 0.76 million, a 5.5% y-o-y increase.
Of the six major cities in the region — comprising the tier-1 city group, Hong Kong, and Taipei — Taipei registered the lowest vacancy rate at 7.9%. As for the tier-2 city group, Qingdao recorded the lowest vacancy rate at 24.7%.
The supply/demand rundown for 20 city core area-level markets in Greater China (Q2 2025)
Source: Cushman & Wakefield Research
Shaun Brodie, Head of Research Content, Greater China, Cushman & Wakefield said, "For tenants, the Grade A office market continues to present opportunities, with vacancy rates and rental levels remaining favorable. With landlords adopting a more flexible approach amid the gradual economic recovery, occupiers can continue to benefit from attractive leasing terms and greater choice in the market."
Jonathan Wei, President, Project and Occupier Services, China, Cushman & Wakefield, commented: "In the next two or three years, there will be a peak in supply in most of the major cities in the Chinese mainland region. Landlords will need to continue to strengthen their market competitiveness to attract tenants."
Beijing
New Grade A office supply in Beijing in 2024 reached 273,000 sq m, a 55% decrease compared with the full-year 2023, making it the lowest new supply level of the past decade. No new supply entered the Beijing office market in H1 2025, with total Grade A office stock unchanged at 13.68 million sq m for the first half of 2025.
From 2024 to H1 2025, softening rental levels, large leasing deals, and pre-leasing at new entrants boosted citywide net absorption to surpass the previous period performance, reaching 511,967 sq m, up 51.9% y-o-y. The overall office market vacancy rate trended down 1.8 percentage points from the Q4 2023 level to 16.87%.
No new supply is scheduled to enter the Grade A office market in H2 2025. We expect the market to continue to digest existing stock, in turn further pulling down the overall vacancy rate. Landlords' room for rent concessions is approaching a limit, and the overall market is now in a bottoming-out phase. We expect overall office rents to stabilize by the end of 2025.
Shanghai
From 2024 to H1 2025, approximately 1.34 million sq m of high-quality office space launched in the Shanghai Grade A office market, with 56% of the area located in emerging districts.
Over the past six quarters, the Shanghai Grade A office market recorded average quarterly net absorption of 132,266 sq m. The professional services, retail & trade, and TMT sectors were active in leasing, accounting for the top three sectors for leased area. As at Q2 2025, the vacancy rate rose to 23.6%. In turn, the average monthly rental level fell 8.2% y-o-y to RMB 212.6 per sq m.
From H2 2025 to 2027, Shanghai will see 2.58 million sq m of new supply enter the market, representing 14.6% of current stock, with emerging business districts becoming the main supply hubs. Additionally, favorable policy measures for both demand and supply are being implemented, accelerating innovation in strategic emerging industry fields such as integrated circuits, biomedicine, and AI, optimizing spatial layouts, and injecting new momentum into the office market.
Shenzhen
Shenzhen's Grade A office market welcomed 516,000 sq m of new supply from Q1 2024 through to Q2 2025, bringing citywide total stock to 8.60 million sq m. The new supply was distributed in Qianhai, Luohu and Futian.
Citywide net absorption for 2024 contracted 57.9% y-o-y to record 165,000 sq m. Citywide net absorption in H1 2025 expanded y-o-y but remained at the similarly low level for the same period in the past decade. The citywide overall vacancy rate has risen 1.7 percentage points since the end of 2023 to reach 27.8%. The Q2 2025 monthly average rental level dropped 14.1% from Q4 2023 to record RMB160.1 sq m.
Approximately 1.2 million sq m of new supply is scheduled to enter the market in the H2 2025 period. The overall vacancy rate is expected to continue to rise, and rents will face downwards pressure in the short- term. With the ongoing development of AI, we anticipate that the Grade A office market will see incremental demand growth driven by the further emergence of high-quality technology sector firms.
Guangzhou
From the beginning of 2024 to the second quarter of 2025, new office projects totaling 441,713 sq m of space were completed. Citywide total stock then expanded to 6.94 million sq m. Delayed deliveries have reduced supply in 2024 compared to 2023, although accelerated construction in the Financial City district led to a resurgence of supply in the first half of 2025.
Compared to the end of 2023, the market has experienced a rise in lease inquiries. Occupiers continue to view renovation and fit-out expense incentives as key factors when looking to sign a new lease. Domestic enterprises remain the key drivers of transaction activity, with TMT, professional services, and finance firms, the top three sectors for leased area citywide.
Ahead, 2.39 million sq m of new space is expected to enter the market by 2027. Headquarter-type properties will account for more than half of the new supply. Market demand continues to evolve, with vacancy rates and rental levels remaining under pressure amid fierce competition.
Chengdu
From 2024 through to H1 2025, Chengdu saw 287,554 sq m of new Grade A office space enter the market, expanding citywide total stock to 3.38 million sq m.
Grade A office net absorption reached 67,468 sq m for the 2024 to H1 2025 period. The TMT, professional services, and finance sectors accounted for 26.4%, 19.6% and 16.8% of total leasing transaction volume by area, respectively. From the end of 2023, new supply combined with weakening leasing demand have now pushed up the citywide vacancy rate by 4.4 percentage points to reach 28.8%, while the average monthly rental level has dropped to RMB89.5 per sq m.
Nearly 1.0 million sq m of new supply is expected to enter the market from H2 2025 to 2027. The supply influx, combined with tenants' cost reductions, is expected to elevate vacancy and exert downwards pressure on rents. Tenants are likely to seize further opportunities for upgrades, renewals, and consolidation.
Hong Kong
More than 194,000 sq m of new supply entered the market from 2024 through to H1 2025, with 44,900 sq m in H1 2025, distributed approximately equally in core and non-core areas. We forecast upcoming new supply to reach 264,300 sq m in H2 2025.
The average quarterly new leased area reached 84,900 sq m in the 2024 to H1 2025 period, 19% higher than the quarterly average for 2020–2023, with the finance sector primarily driving demand. Net absorption recorded 122,000 sq m for the 2024 to H1 2025 period, excluding pre-lease activities at new project developments.
The recovery of the Hong Kong IPO market should help support market sentiment and downstream office demand, particularly from finance and professional services firms. However, the high availability and ample new supply pipeline, with occupiers still cost-conscious, dictates our forecast for overall office rents to drop by 7% to 9% through the full-year 2025.
Taipei
From 2024 through to the first half of 2025, the Taipei market welcomed seven new Grade A office properties contributing approximately 195,700 sq m of new supply — double the figure seen in 2023. This brought the city's total Grade A stock to 2.80 million sq m.
Net absorption for 2024 to H1 2025 reached approximately 161,400 sq m, primarily driven by the consolidation and relocation of self-use headquarters in the financial and insurance sectors. Multinational corporations accounted for around 80.9% of total leasing demand, up from 51.6% in 2023, indicating a higher proportion of foreign occupier activity during the period.
Over the next three years, Taipei will add around 968,000 sq m of new Grade A supply. With major completions slated from mid-2025, competition will intensify. In response, some landlords are upgrading facilities and offering flexible lease terms, while developers may adjust timelines based on absorption trends.
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Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global commercial real estate services firm for property owners and occupiers with approximately 52,000 employees in nearly 400 offices and 60 countries. In Greater China, a network of 23 offices serves local markets across the region. In 2024, the firm reported revenue of $9.4 billion across its core services of Valuation, Consulting, Project & Development Services, Capital Markets, Project & Occupier Services, Industrial & Logistics, Retail, and others. Built around the belief that Better never settles, the firm receives numerous industry and business accolades for its award-winning culture. For additional information, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com.hk or follow us on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/cushman-&-wakefield-greater-china).
