Slow summer for Central office space lettings

The number of new lettings of office premises in Central in July plunged 75 percent month-on-month, property consultants JLL said.

It said leasing activity slowed during the summer holiday, with a net withdrawal of 17,300 square feet recorded during the period.

Mainland banking and financial services firm accounted for 91 percent of all new office premises lettings in Central in terms of floor area. They were also active in sub-market fringes, JLL added.

The office leasing transactions included Fortune Fountain Capital which rented 8,900 sq ft at Infinitus Plaza in Sheung Wan as it decided to move out of Central.

JLL also said office rents in Wan Chai and Causeway Bay rose by 0.7 percent month-on-month, as vacancy in the sub-market dropped for the third consecutive month.

Midland Realty said a 2,729-sq-ft office unit at Catic Plaza, a grade B office building in Causeway Bay, was rented out for about HK$81,000 a month, or HK$30 per sq ft.

In the residential market, Midland Realty data showed that prices of small flats tend to be higher than bigger-size units in 50 of the SAR's major housing estates.

Flats below 400 saleable sq ft have an average price of HK$13,111 per sq ft. Meanwhile, the average price of small to medium flats from 401 sq ft to 800 sq ft is at HK$12,078 per sq ft.

Meanwhile, a homebuyer at Cheung Kong Property's (1113) Harbour Glory project in North Point reportedly forfeited a HK$2.63 million deposit for a 578-sq-ft, two-bedroom apartment priced at HK$26.3 million.