Housing leasing, sales remain active
By Jia Hepeng (China Business Weekly)
Updated: 2004-05-10 14:30

Leasing and sales continued to be active in office and residential markets in major Chinese cities -- Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou -- in the year's first quarter, according to Jones Lang LaSalle's latest Greater China Property Index.

Activity in the office leasing market was generally slow during January because of holidays, but began to pick up significantly in February.

International companies in the professional and financial services sector were eagerly looking for Prime Grade A and Grade A office space in the central business district (CBD), said the index, which was released last week.

On the back of strong demand, the average vacancy rate in the office market decreased to 13.2 per cent from 15.5 per cent in the last quarter in 2003.

In the city centre, space became significantly less available. The vacancy rate was 5.9 per cent in the CBD area.

The average Grade A office rent dropped marginally during the first quarter And the sales market was again confined to local companies rather than international ones.

The Beijing residential leasing market boomed during the first quarter of 2004.

With multinational companies continuing to expand operations, expatriates at middle to senior management levels were brought into the city, generating demand for high-end residential units.

The average vacancy rate in the high-end residential market decreased to 28.8 per cent from 29.2 per cent three months ago. Older projects are facing ever-growing competition from new schemes that are typically much better conceived and designed. Consequently, they have to offer lower rents and more attractive leasing packages to lure tenants.

The secondary market in the sales market remains active with local and overseas Chinese being the largest groups of buyers. However, foreigners are also becoming more active in purchasing units for owner occupation purposes.

Shanghai's office leasing market was also active in the first quarter.

In the first quarter for Shanghai, rents increased by less than 1 per cent over the fourth quarter of 2003.

Interest remains high among property investors in Shanghai and foreign investors continue to look for opportunities to invest in existing properties. Several transactions could be completed by mid-year.

Activities in Shanghai's residential leasing increased noticeably. Expatriates assigned to Shanghai began to move in. As a result, the vacancy rate of high-end apartments declined from 17.6 per cent in the fourth quarter in 2003 to 17 per cent in the first quarter this year.

Villas were particularly popular in the first quarter with major projects all reaching occupancy rates of 90 per cent or above. Despite strong leasing activity, the average rental level was slightly lower. Rents for high-end projects decreased by 1.1 per cent over the fourth quarter last year.

Capital values for high-end projects rose moderately by 0.7 per cent in the first quarter.

In Guangzhou, leasing activity of Grade A offices continued active during the first quarter. While demand came predominantly from local enterprises, the implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) signed between the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong has induced more inquiries from small to medium Hong Kong companies looking for business opportunities in southern China.

The overall vacancy of office buildings in Guangzhou stood at 10.3 per cent, virtually unchanged from the previous quarter. Grade A properties remain attractive to tenants with overall Grade A office rent increasing 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Sales and purchase activities of office units were mainly driven by end-users. The Guangzhou Real Estate Information Centre reported that a total of 437,100 square metres of office space was involved in transactions in 2003, down 4.5 per cent year-on-year. Overall capital values rose by 1.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2004.

In Guangzhou's residential sector,continued inflow of executives in the manufacturing field still generated the prime source of demand for high-end residential properties. The average luxury residential rental edged up by 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2004.

In the first quarter, there was also a high level of sales activities attributed to a high level of supply of both completed and pre-sale units. The Guangzhou Housing Bureau reported that the overall residential market pre-sale transaction totalled 9.1 million square metres in 2003, rising 15.1 per cent over the previous year. the overall luxury residential capital values were virtually unchanged in the first quarter of 2004.

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